
Book *M % 



MODERN MYSTERIES . ^ 

l 

EXPLAINED AND EXPOSED. 

IN FOUR PARTS. 



I. CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS OF A. J. DAVIS. 

II. PHENOMENA OF SPIRITUALISM EXPLAINED AND|EXPOSED. 

HI. EVIDENCE THAT THE BIBLE IS GIVEN BY INSPIRATION 
OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD, AS COMPARED WITH THE 
EVIDENCE THAT THESE MANIFESTATIONS ARE FROM 
.THE SPIRITS OF MEN. 

IV. CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS OF EMANUEL S^ r EDENBORG. 



BY X 

REV. A. MA HAN, 

FIRST PRESIDENT OF CLEVELAND UNIVERSITY. 



"There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, 
Than are dreamed of in your philosophy." 



BOSTON: 

PUBLISHED BY JOHN P. JEWETT AND COMPANY 

CLEVELAND, OHIO: 

JEWETT, PROCTOR AND WORTHINGTON. 

NEW YORK : SHELDON, LAMPORT AND BLAKEMAN. 

LONDON : TRUBNER AND CO. 

1855. 




$t\o 






Entei id according to Act of Congress, in the year 1855, by 

ASA M A H AN, 

In the Clerk's C ffice of the District Court of the District of Massachusetts. 



CAMBRIDG E : 
ALLEN AND FARNHAM, STEREOTYPERS AND PRINTERS. 



) 



/ 



INTRODUCTION. 



Perhaps we cannot better introduce the reader to the 
treatise before him, than by giving a short statement of the 
circumstances which led us to adopt the views therein de- 
veloped in regard to Spiritualism. Since the year 1850, our 
residence has been in one of the grand centres of this move- 
ment, and where, consequently, the mysterious phenomena were 
continuously pressed upon our attention. Believing it to be 
our duty as a religious teacher, and an instructor of youth, suffi- 
ciently to acquaint ourself with any influences which are 
abroad in community, and are operative there with great 
power to give form and direction to the intellectual, moral, 
and religious sentiments of the public, to be able to speak 
intelligently in respect to the same, as occasion may require, 
we accordingly turned our thoughts more or less upon the 
mysterious phenomena under consideration. One of the cir- 
cumstances which first impressed our mind was the utter incom- 
patibility of the fundamental characteristics of these facts, as 
reported even by spiritualists themselves, with the supposition 
that they are the intended results of intelligent minds who are 
communicating with us from the heavenly or infernal world. 
By no laws of mind known to us could we account for the 
facts, by a reference to such an origin. When they were re- 

(iii) 



IV INTRODUCTION. 

ferred to good spirits, our reply was : good spirits cannot falsify 
as these do ; for these falsify, when spirits, if present, cannot 
but know the truth ; profess knowledge, when they must know 
themselves ignorant, and make positive affirmations, when they 
must know that they are only guessing. Good spirits cannot 
thus act. When they were referred to bad spirits, our reply was : 
these spirits do not lie like men in the flesh, nor as any spirits 
would do whose conduct is governed by any laws known to us. 
There is a certain " method " even in lying, wherever it appears, 
and here is lying which has no such method, nor any method 
at all which can properly be ascribed to spirits aiming at some 
intelligent end good or bad. When individuals told us, that 
they had had communications with their spirit friends, our 
reply was : the spirit here speaking says some things, that that 
of your mother, if present, might, and no doubt would say. 
Your mother, however, when alive and with you, never falsified 
as this spirit does, and would not thus falsify, if now present. 
We therefore rejected the ah extra spirit hypothesis, as wholly 
incompatible with the facts. 

We were first led to refer the facts to tricks of the mediums. 
Soon, however, we were confronted with phenomena wholly 
incompatible with such a supposition. We met, for example, 
with evidences which we could not resist and maintain our 
integrity, of the reality of physical manifestations of a very 
startling and impressive character. We ourselves personally 
witnessed such facts as we could account for, by no reference 
to conscious or unconscious muscular action. We also met with 
individuals of the first intelligence and integrity, and who utterly 
repudiate the spirit theory, who had themselves witnessed such 
phenomena. In the Congregational Society's Eooms in Bos- 
ton, for example, an orthodox Congregational clergyman, of 



INTRODUCTION. V 

unquestionable intelligence and integrity, affirmed to us, in the 
presence of several other clergymen, that on one occasion he 
saw a medium place her hands gently upon a marble-topped 
table, no other person being near ; that after holding them there 
awhile, the object began to move after her around the room, 
that he himself got under the table, and taking hold of its legs, 
attempted to hold it still, and that he was, with the table, drawn 
quite a distance over the floor, all his efforts to the contrary not- 
withstanding. From many others we received precisely similar 
and equally credible statements. We found, then, that we had 
to admit the facts, or take the ground that no strange events 
can be established by testimony. How then could we ask 
the world to believe in Christian miracles ? We found equally 
valid evidence for the reality of the facts of Spiritualism, as 
far as the intelligent communications are concerned. We found 
ourselves necessitated, therefore, in moral honesty, to admit the 
facts, and then to seek an explanation of them on some mun- 
dane hypothesis, as their character precluded any other sup- 
position than their exclusively mundane origin. 

As we reflected upon the facts under consideration, we were 
forcibly struck with this suggestion, that they seemed evidently 
to imply the existence in nature of a polar force not yet dis- 
tinctly recognized in philosophy, a force having, when de- 
veloped, very strong attractive and repulsive power ; a force, the 
direction of whose action, when certain conditions are fulfilled, 
accords with mental states, and is determined by the same ; a 
force, finally, through which the mental states of one mind may 
be reproduced in others, and thus embodied, as in these com- 
munications. The existence of precisely such a force seemed 
demanded by the facts, whether we supposed it governed, in the 
production of these manifestations, by spirits in the body or 

A* 



VI INTRODUCTION. 

out of the body. We were also deeply impressed with the obvi- 
ous correspondence of these manifestations, physical and mental, 
with the phenomena of mesmerism and clairvoyance, on the 
one hand, and those of another class which from time to time 
have, in all ages, startled and troubled mankind, and which phi- 
losophers now refer to a power in nature denominated the 
Odylic Force, on the other. This led to a careful examination 
and classification of each of these classes of phenomena, and 
to an equally careful comparison of the results thus obtained 
with the spirit phenomena, physical and intellectual. 

The following are some of the conclusions to which we were 
thus conducted : 1. There is in nature a force having the 
identical properties above specified, and which we denominate 
the Odylic Force. 2. This force is identical with the cause 
of all the mesmeric and clairvoyant phenomena, on the one 
hand, and with the immediate cause of these manifestations, on 
the other. 3. By a reference to the properties and laws of this 
force as developed in the spirit circles, and to its relations to 
the minds constituting the same, we can account most fully for 
all the spirit phenomena, of every kind, without the supposi- 
tion of the presence or agency of disembodied spirits. Con- 
sequently, the hypothesis of Spiritualism is wholly unsus- 
tained by any valid evidence whatever. 4. The entire real 
facts of Spiritualism demand the supposition, that this force in 
the production of these communications is controlled exclu- 
sively, for the most part unconsciously, by the minds in the 
circles, and not by disembodied spirits out of the same. 5. We 
finally found, what we did not at first expect, that we had 
developed facts and principles which gave an equally ready 
and satisfactory explanation of the phenomena of witchcraft, 
necromancy, fortune-telling, etc. etc., phenomena which from 



INTRODUCTION. Vll 

time to time have been the wonder and terror of mankind in 
all ages. 6. Other consequences of equal and far greater im- 
portance seemed undeniably to follow from our facts and 
deductions. The results of our investigations, the reader will 
find embodied in the following treatise. Before putting our 
thoughts in type, however, we first, after fully satisfying our mind 
upon the subject, submitted our facts and arguments to a large 
number of the first thinkers, clergymen and laymen, in the 
country, and requested their careful inspection of, and candid 
judgment on the same. "We are gratified to say, that we have 
yet to meet with the first individual who has thus heard, and 
with us, admits the facts of Spiritualism, that has not expressed 
the belief, that the mystery that has hitherto hung around these 
manifestations is now satisfactorily explained, and who has not 
expressed the earnest wish to have this work presented to the 
public. Thus assured and thus encouraged, we throw our 
thoughts abroad upon the public mind, that their merits and 
demerits may be adjudicated upon. 

As we have intended to produce a work which would stand 
the most rigid test of criticism, we have been exceeding careful 
in the induction of facts. We have rejected all that came 
before us, in the reliability of which we were not perfectly 
assured, that full confidence might be most reasonably reposed ; 
and if we have, in a single instance, overdrawn a single feature 
of any fact adduced, it has been contrary to our honest inten- 
tions. 

The other topics discussed, are now so connected, in the pub- 
lic mind, with the spirit movement, that none will question, we 
think, the propriety of introducing them, as we have done, into 
the same treatise. With these suggestions, we leave the work 

with the public. 

THE AUTHOR. 
JULT, 1855. 



CONTENTS. 



PAET I. 

CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS OF A. J. DAVIS. 

Reasons for reviewing this "Work. — Self-assumed Claims of the Author. 
— His Manner. — Common Argument for his Inspiration. — His Scien- 
tific Principles. — His Theory of Creation. — Fundamental Objections 
to the same. — His Claims viewed in the Light of his Reliability as a 
Relator of Facts of History. — Specimen of his Revelations in regard 
to " Things unseen." — His Moral Principles and Character. — Conclu- 
sions from the Previous Deductions, .... pages 1-32 



PART II. 

PHENOMENA OP SPIRITUALISM EXPLAINED AND EXPOSED. 

General Introductory Observations. — Propositions to be discussed, 

33-38 

CHAPTER I. 

HAVE WE VALID EVIDENCE THAT DISEMBODIED SPIRITS HAVE ANT 
AGENCY IN THESE MANIFESTATIONS 1 

Test Principles. — Facts adduced by Spiritualists classified and stated. 

— Positions which may be taken by those who deny the Spirit Theory. 

— Our Position stated and explained. 

First Two Propositions. 

Prom exclusively mundane causes precisely similar and analogous Pacts 
do arise. 

(ix) 



X CONTENTS. 

These Manifestations occur in circumstances in which such causes are 

known to exist and to act. 
Issue stated. — Admitted Facts, 38-48 

SECTION I. 

Electricity, Magnetism, and Animal Magnetism distinguished. — Effects 
of Animal Magnetism upon the Human System, . . 48-63 

SECTION II. 

THE ODYLIC FORCE. 

Its Properties. — Illustrations. — Common Facts. — Angelique Cottin. — 
Case in New Hackensack, N. Y. — Case in Woodbridge, New Jersey. 

— Case in Stockwell, England. — The Molesworth Case in Edinburgh, 
Scotland. — Phenomena at the house of Dr. Phelps, Stamford, Conn. 

— Case in Albany, N. Y., stated by Rev. E. N. Kirk. — Drummer of 
Tedworth, England. — The Case of Frederica Hauffe. — Of Made- 
moiselle Ranfaing. — Remarks on this Case. — Cases in the Family of 
Cotton Mather, 63-99 

The Odylic Force identical with the Immediate Cause of these Manifesta- 
tions, 99-106 

The Immediate Cause of these Manifestations identical with that from 
which result the Phenomena of Mesmerism and Clairvoyance, 

106-109 

SECTION IU. 

Principles and Facts applied to the Elucidation of the so called Spirit 

Phenomena. — General Statements, 109-112 

The Physical Manifestations elucidated and explained, . 112-126 
Intellectual Communications explained. — Three Classes of Mediums. — 
Phenomena through these explained. — Concession of Spiritualists. — 
Consequences of the same. New Information obtained in these Cir- 
cles, . . . . . 126-152 

SECTION IV. 

Third Proposition established, namely, that we have positive and conclu- 
sive Evidence, that these Manifestations are the exclusive Result of 
Mundane Causes, and not of the Agency of Disembodied Spirits. — 
Points of Agreement and Disagreement. 

Argument 1. The Principle of Sufficient Reason, . . . 153, 154 

2. No new Truth found in these Communications, . 154-156 

3. The peculiar Sentiments and Opinions comprised in these Mani- 



CONTENTS. XI 

festations uniformly take form from, and correspond with, the 
peculiar Sentiments of the Circles in which they originate, 

157-160 

4. Apparent Exceptions confirmatory of the ahove. — Fact which 

occurred in a Circle in Leroy, N. Y., . . . 160, 161 

5. Communications purporting to come from particular Spirits com- 

pared with their Writings and Teachings when on Earth, 

161 -163 

6. General Character of these Communications considered in an in- 

tellectual point of view. — Examples of Spirit Prose and 
Poetry. — Every Peculiarity of the Inquirer's State of Mind 
always reflected in these Manifestations. — All Spirits in the 
same Circles have the same Style. — The same Spirits have a 
different Style in different Circles. — Bacon and Swedenborg 
in the Work of Judge Edmonds. — Webster, Clay, and Cal- 
houn in a Spirit Circle in the City of New York. — Apparent 
Exception, 163-175 

7. The same Evidence of real Presence, Identity, and Intelligence, 

can be obtained in reference to the affirmed Departed Spirits of 
Devils, of Men yet alive, or who never existed, — of Brutes, 
Shrubs, and Stones, as of any other Spirits, . 175-179 

8. The same Evidence of Presence and Identity can be obtained in 

respect to Persons yet alive, and but supposed to be dead, as in 
any other Cases. — Example in an intelligent Christian Fam- 
ily. — Important Case in Cleveland, . . . 175-179 

9. Similar Communications are obtained by Spiritualists themselves, 

in their own Circles. — Case occurring under our own Obser- 
vation. — Notable Case connected with Judge Edmonds and 
Others. — Case witnessed by a Lady left a Widow by William 

Leggett, of New York, 179-183 

10. The Eesults of Observations and Experiments made to determine 
the Location of the Cause of these Manifestations. — Clairvoy- 
ant and Spirit Fact. — Experiment made by a Gentleman at 
the head of a Literary Institution in Ohio, and Others. — Mes- 
meric and Spirit Experiments made by two Gentlemen in 
Cleveland. — Important Experiments and Observations made 
by another Gentleman in Cleveland. — Those of a Gentleman 
of strong Mesmeric Power in the State of New York, and also 
of a Professor of Ohio Medical College. — Eesults of Experi 
ments and Observations classified. — Facts which occurred at 
the House of Eev. Starr King, of Boston. — Important Facts 
furnished by Dr. Bell, of the McLean Lunatic Asylum. — State- 
ments of Dr. Bell confirmed by kindred ones from N. I. Bow- 
ditch, Esq., of Boston. — Important Facts furnished by a New 
England Congregational Clergyman, . . . 183-229 



XU CONTENTS. 

11. Argument drawn from a Certain Class of False Answers often 

obtained in these Circles, 229 - 232 

12. Argument drawn from Experiments made to determine the Ex> 

tent of Control which may be exercised over the Cause of 
these Manifestations. — Case in Hamilton, Ohio, 232 - 235 

13. Argument drawn from the Experience and Testimony of certain 

intelligent Mediums. — A Pupil of Ours. — Intelligent Medium 
in the City of New York. — Physician in Michigan. — Young 
Lady in Boston. — Intelligent Clergyman in Cleveland. — An- 
other Clergyman. — Mrs. C — in Rhode Island, . 235 - 241 

14. Argument drawn from the Eorms of Contradiction Avhich appear 

in these Communications, 241-243 

15. The Ealse Communications which are continuously given forth in 

these Circles, 243-248 

CHAPTER II. 

TENDENCY OF SPIRITUALISM. 

SECTION I. 
Tendency to benefit or injure Mankind physically, . . 250-256 

SECTION II. 
Tendency of Spiritualism to benefit or injure Mankind intellectually, 

257-259 
Spiritualism not a reliable Source of Information, . . 259 - 267 
Spiritualism has not benefited the World as far as Science is concerned, 

268-279 
It has done nothing to improve Literature, . . . 280, 281 

SECTION HI. 
Moral Tendency of Spiritualism, . . . ; . . 281-288 
Summary Statement of its Tendencies, .... 288-290 

CHAPTER IH. 

MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS. 

SECTION I. 
Special Pacts connected with Spiritualism. — Copying the Voice, Manner, 

and Handwriting of Individuals, 291-293 

Tactual Impressions, 293, 294 

Seeing Spirits, 294 - 296 



CONTENTS. X1U 

Speaking and Writing in unknown Languages, . . . 296 - 300 

Fact witnessed by J. G. Whittier, Esq., .... 300-302 

SECTION II. 

Special Facts which require explanation, .... 303 - 307 

SECTION in. 

Phenomena of Dreaming, 307-311 

Analogous Facts of Common Occurrence, .... 312-315 

Premonitions of Future Events, 315,316 

SECTION IV. 

Phenomena of Ghost-seeing and of Haunted Houses, . . 316-319 

SECTION V. 

Witchcraft, . ■ 319-323 

Bewitching Persons and Objects, . . . . 323-327 

Fortune-telling, . . . ., 328-331 

Manner in which Mysterious Events are commonly treated, 331, 332 

SECTION VI. 

Spirit Manifestations, and Scripture Miracles, . . . 333 - 337 
Bearing of our Previous Investigations upon the Doctrine of a General and 

Particular Providence, 337-343 

Conclusion, 344 



PART III. 

EVIDENCE THAT THE SCRIPTURES ARE GIVEN BY INSPIRA- 
TION OF THE SPIRIT OP GOD, AS CONTRASTED WITH THE 
EVIDENCE THAT THE SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS ARE FROM 
THE SPIRITS OF MEN. 

CHAPTER I. 

ARGUMENT FROM EXTERNAL MIRACLES. MIRACLE DEFINED. 

SECTION I. 
Nature and bearing of Scripture Facts claimed as Miracles, supposing 
them to have occurred. — 1. If admitted as real, they prove the Divine 
Origin of Christianity. — 2. Original Witnesses could not have been 
deceived in regard to the Fact of their Occurrence or Non-occurrence. 
— 3. Witnesses who testified to their Occurrence gross Deceivers, if 
they did not occur, 346-350 

B 



XIV CONTENTS. 

SECTION II. 

Proof of the Actual Occurrence of these Events. — 1. Antecedent Prob- 
ability. — 2. More reasonable to suppose their Occurrence than to affirm 
that Christ and the Sacred Writers were all Deceivers and Impostors. 

— 3. Amount of Testimony. — 4. Its Nature and Character. — 5. Wide- 
spread and rapid Extension of Christianity. — 6. Must admit the Occur- 
rence of these Events, or repudiate all Evidence of a historical kind, 

350-362 

CHAPTER II. 

ARGUMENT PROM PROPHECY. 

Forms of Foresight possessed by Mankind. — Argument stated, 263, 264 

SECTION I. 

Old Testament Prophecy. — 1 . Uttered long before the Events predicted 
occurred. — 2. Prophets had before them no Precedents from which to 
derive their Predictions. — 3. Nations, etc., veiy numerous who were the 
Subjects of Prophecy. — 4. Harmony of Statement among the Prophets. 

— 5. Were very particular in their Statements, and each Nation, etc., 
was to have a Destiny peculiar to itself. — 6. Greatest Antecedent 
Probabilities against the Occurrence of the Events predicted. — 7. Every 
Prophecy perfectly fulfilled, 365-374 

SECTION n. 

New Testament Predictions. — Examples. — 1. Prophecy pertaining to 
the Church of Philadelphia, Kev. 3: 10. — 2. Christ's Prophecy per- 
taining to Jerusalem, and Julian's Attempt to prove it false, 375 - 379 

CHAPTER IH. 

ARGUMENT FROM INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 

Argument stated. — Examples. — 1. The Character of God as developed 
in the Scriptures. — 2. That of Jesus Christ. — 3. The System of 
Moral Duty developed in the Scriptures. — 4. Manner in which the 
Universal is blended in the Particular. — 5. Experimental Argument. 

— 6. Undeniable Marks of Honesty and Integrity in the Sacred Writ- 
ers, 380-398 

CHAPTER IV. 

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

No Objections urged against the Christian Argument in any of tho 
Forms above stated. — None to show how a Religion sustained by such 
Evidence can be false. — No Objections of Weight sufficient to over- 
balance such Evidence, . . . . •. . 399 - 403 



CONTENTS. XV 

OBJECTIONS RELATIVE TO INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 

1. Hume's Objection to Miracles. — 2. Assumption that all Events occur 
through Unchangeable Laws. — 3. That Scripture Statements are 
mythical or fabulous. — Jesus Christ, .... 403 - 409 

OBJECTIONS BASED UPON WHAT IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE. 

1. Doctrine of Ketribution. — 2. Of Atonement. — 3. Destruction of the 
Inhabitants of Canaan. — 4. Standing still of the Sun and Moon. — 5. 
Facts stated in regard to Balaam. — 6. Israelites permitted to give away 
diseased Meat. — Deut. 15: 21, 409-422 



PART IV. 

CLAIRVOYANT REVELATION OF EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 

Reasons for Reviewing these Revelations, .... 423 - 428 
Objections to their Validity. — 1. Their Cause. — 2. Argument from 
Sufficient Reason. — 3. From the Character of God. — 4. Subjective 
Character of these Revelations. — 5. Misstatements in regard to known 
Facts. — 6. Intrinsic Absurdity of his Interpretations of Scripture. — 7. 
Character of God, and Swedenborg's Teachings in regard to different 
Portions of the Scriptures. — 8. His Fundamental Ideas of a Future 
State cannot possibly be true. — 8. His Moral Teachings. — Reasons 
offered by Swedenborgians for his Inspiration. — Opinion of Sweden- 
borg and A. J. Davis, 423-466 



MODERN MYSTERIES. 



PART I. 

CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS* 

When any new and very gross absurdity is com- 
mended to public regard, men of real science, theolo- 
gians especially, pass it by, under the impression, that 
should they expose the imposition, they would appear 
to the public in the repulsive light of " answering a 
fool according to his folly." It is this fear, we think, 
rather than a prudent regard to the public welfare, 
which has shielded modern " spirit revelations " from 
that degree of scientific scrutiny requisite to unmask 
the imposture before the world. Whatever may be 
thought of the subject in general, the writings of the 
individual whose name stands at the head of this arti- 
cle seem to demand a critical examination. The vol- 
ume to which we have referred, consisting of 782 octavo 
pages, purports to have gone through no less than 
eleven editions in this country. It has been reprinted 

* " The Principles of Nature ; her Divine Revelations, and a Voice to 
Mankind ; by and through Andrew Jackson Davis, the Poughkcepsie 
Seer, and Clairvoyant. In three Parts," etc. 

1 



Z MODERN MYSTERIES. 

in London ; and how many editions it has gone through 
in Great Britain we have not been informed. It has 
also laid the foundation for that " spirit" movement which 
now controls the religious, and, to a great extent, the 
scientific faith of vast multitudes in this country and in 
Europe. We shall therefore make no further apologies 
for an attempt at a somewhat critical examination of 
the philosophy and character of this great primal pro- 
duction of modern spiritualism. 

The self-asserted claims of our author are very wide 
sweeping, and very peculiar. In the state in which his 
revelations are given to the world, he claims to be pos- 
sessed of a power hardly less than omniscient, in regard 
to the past, present, and, to a great extent, future his- 
tory and condition of the universe. " His philosophy," 
says his scribe, " is only that which is involved in the 
laws and principles which control the universe and 
mankind unerringly, and his theology is only that which 
is written on the wide spread scroll of the heavens, in 
which every star is a word, and every constellation a 
sentence." " And whatever truths," says our seer, 
" have entered the minds of investigators, they will see 
the same reflected, " (in these revelations,) " which will 
be a source of inward gratification. There will also be 
a consolation derived from the things contained in the 
revelation, consisting in the reflection that the dross and 
impurities of systems and theories have become purged 
off, or rather repulsed by the truth, which is positive and 
eternal." What the stern Mohammedan did with the 
celebrated Alexandrian library, the world, if our seer's 
claims be admitted, should now do with all the books 
of all investigators of truth, since the world began. 
" Whatever truths," (the italics are our author's,) " these 
works contain, is found in this revelation, and found 



CLAIKVOYANT KEVELATTONS. 6 

here, as it is not found in those works, in a state of total 
freedom from all dross and impurities. What use is 
there then for any such works ? Let them be given to 
the flames. Then these revelations contain not only 
the truth, but the whole truth. The revelation, our au- 
thor affirms, " will progressively reveal every visible and 
invisible existence, until it arrives at the highest sphere 
of perfection, and then will retrace the links of develop- 
ment back to the original cause and foundation of all 
things." What investigator, from this time forth, will 
have the audacity to write another book, when all truth 
pertaining to the visible and the invisible, and that in 
its origin and progress, is here revealed in a state of 
total freedom from all admixture of error ? 

The manner of our seer claims a passing remark in 
this connection. Everywhere he speaks " as one hav- 
ing authority, and not as the scribes." The only foun- 
dation that he lays for our faith in his revelations, is the 
fact, that in the state of clairvoyance in which these 
revelations are given forth, this Poughkeepsie seer has 
an impression that things are thus and so, and is im- 
pressed to say it. Simply and exclusively because he is 
thus impressed, in the state referred to, we are to believe 
that " the material universe is a vortex" and " that the 
earth, when comprehended as an entire whole, is a 
stomach;" that the world had a beginning, and yet that 
it revolved around the sun from eternity ; [after describ- 
ing the process of the creation of this and all other 
planets, he tells us, page 430, that the modern philoso- 
pher, who discovered the fact, that the earth revolves 
around the sun, " discovered the truth ; but that the truth 
had existed the same from all eternity;"] that Jesus 
Christ was laid in a manger, not at his birth, as the 
sacred writer affirms, but at a subsequent period, and 



4 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

that he lay there not over forty minutes by the watch ; 
that the Bible, instead of " bringing life and immortal- 
ity to light," enshrouds this whole subject in clouds and 
darkness ; that it does not " present any proper concep- 
tion of the constitution, character, greatness, omnipo- 
tence, and majesty of the divine mind ; " nor " teach 
that holy virtue, morality, and refinement which should 
receive the name of religion;" that, in short, it has 
been a source of injury rather than good to the world, 
possessing not even the humble merit of preparing the 
way for the sublime revelations of the Poughkeepsie 
seer, etc. Take a single example of his manner. " Pre- 
vious to this journey, [the flight into Egypt,] a neces- 
sary circumstance compelled Mary to lay her child in a 
manger, in which place, I am distinctly impressed, he 
lay not more than forty minutes." Thus we are to 
throw away our Bibles, and believe any thing that may 
be commended to our- regard, for one reason only, 
namely; — Andrew Jackson Davis, in a state of clair- 
voyance, has had an impression ; he is " impressed to 
say ; " is " distinctly impressed" 

Permit us here to invite special attention to the argu- 
ment on which, exclusively as we understand, the high 
claims of our seer are by him and his associates based. 
In his natural state he appears, it is affirmed, as an un- 
educated young man ; without learning, without sci- 
ence, without high ideas, or an unusual amount of lan- 
guage. In his clairvoyant state, he has the most won- 
derful visions, and naturally embodies these visions in 
the sublime language found in these Revelations. The 
inference based upon these asserted facts is, that these 
visions must be the pure embodiment of eternal and 
immutable truth ; that his " philosophy is only that 
which is involved in the laws and principles which con- 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 5 

trol the universe and mankind unerringly ; and his the- 
ology is only that which is written upon the wide spread 
scroll of the heavens, in which every star is a word, and 
every constellation a sentence." Take away the facts 
above named, and all grounds for the conclusion that 
such is the character of the revelations of our seer, 
disappear at once, and that totally. Now, we say that 
a grosser non sequitur never danced in the brain of En- 
thusiasm, Superstition, or Fanaticism, than is involved 
in the above argument. Granting the facts in all their 
force, how do we know that these visions are the reve- 
lations of truth ? How do we know that they are not 
the exclusive creations of an over-excited and disordered 
imagination? and therefore the embodiment of error, 
and not of truth ? The fact that our seer has no such 
visions in his natural, and that he has them in his clair- 
voyant state, presents not the shadow of evidence that 
these visions are true ; unless it can be shown that in a 
state of clairvoyance the mind sees nothing but truth. 
If it is not the exclusive character of the visions of uni- 
versal mind in this state, how do we know that it is the 
character of those of our Poughkeepsie clairvoyant in 
the same state ? Should it be said that the visions of 
our clairvoyant are of a higher order than those of 
others ; does this, we ask, prove an infallible criterion 
of truth ? To what degree of sublimity must the falli- 
ble rise to become infallible ? The claims of our Seer 
are too shallow, we should think, did not painful expe- 
rience evince the contrary, to command the faith even 
of children. The fact that so many quite sensible peo- 
ple have made shipwreck of a divine faith upon such a 
visible snag as this, evinces to our mind the melancholy 
truth, that much of the thinking of this age has little of 
sound reason or logic in it. 
1* 



6 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

In the case of our seer, however, we have the oppor- 
tunity to test his claims by an infallibly "^gure word of 
prophecy." He professes to give us, with no intermix- 
ture of error, a knowledge of " every visible and invisi- 
ble existence." Suppose that we can convict him of 
the grossest conceivable absurdity and error in his phi- 
losophy, and statements in regard to the visible ; his 
pretended revelations pertaining to the invisible, we 
shall have no occasion to investigate. We have here 
indicated the train of thought which we design to pur- 
sue. We have little to do with our author, as far as 
the invisible is concerned ; but confine ourselves almost 
exclusively to what he is " distinctively impressed " in 
regard to the visible. Hence we shall pass over unno- 
ticed the first part of these revelations, the part which 
relates to the principles of nature, and confine ourselves 
almost exclusively to the second part, in which he gives 
us his theory of creation, and a professed history of the 
progress of events from the beginning to the present 
time. In the progress of our remarks, we intend to 
show that the theory of creation set forth in these 
revelations, is self-contradictory and absurd, and its truth 
impossible, and that in his statements pertaining to 
known facts, our seer shows a degree of ignorance, reck- 
lessness, and error which has but few parallels. We 
shall then give our impressions in regard to the moral 
character of our revelator, from facts which have come 
to our knowledge. 

As a philosopher, our seer is an absolute materialist. 
In one place, he tells us, that " it is a law of Matter 
to produce its ultimate, Mind." In another, he says, 
that to him, " all ultimates are matter." Again, " I 
would, moreover," he says, " have all understand, that I 
consider (because I perceive) that all things, whether 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 7 

tangible or intangible, are material." Once more, " I 
use the terms ' spiritual,' ' celestial,' and ' heavenly,' as 
representing distinct degrees of material refinement.' " 

As a materialist, our seer is an equally absolute 
necessitarian, or fatalist. His sentiments on this point 
are fully set forth on pages 463, 464, where he affirms 
that " it is impossible for any rational mind to conceive 
of such a thing as ' freewill.' " 

Consequently he holds to the existence of spirit and 
of God, in no other form than as an ultimate, a develop- 
ment of matter. On this point our seer has, through- 
out, the merit of self-consistency. He pretends to hold 
to no other form of spiritual existence, or manifestation, 
but that under consideration. 

In testing the validity of his theory of creation, we 
are to take matter as originally given in theory, and 
then, from the known laws of this substance, see if we 
can deduce from it, in accordance with the principles 
of that theory, the facts of the universe just as they are. 
In regard to the original condition of matter, we will let 
our seer speak for himself. 

" In the beginning, the Univercoelum was one bound- 
less, undefinable, and unimaginable ocean of liquid 
fire ! The most vigorous and ambitious imagination 
is not capable of forming an adequate conception of the 
height, and depth, and length, and breadth thereof. 
There was one vast expanse of liquid substance. It 
was without bounds inconceivable, — and with qualities 
and essences incomprehensible. This was the original 
condition of matter. It was without forms, for it was 
but one form. It had no motions ; but was one eter- 
nity of motion. It was without parts ; for it was a 
whole. Particles did not exist ; but the whole was as 
one particle. There were not suns ; but it was one 



8 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

eternal sun. It had no beginning, and was without end. 
It had not length ; for it was a vortex of one eternity." 
[He has just told us that it had length inconceivable. 
Strange logic that also ; that because it is " a vortex of 
one eternity," that it therefore has not length. " A vor- 
tex of one eternity ! " How many other eternities are 
there ? "A vortex of one eternity ! " What a palpably 
intelligible idea.] " It had not circles ; for it was one 
infinite circle. It had not disconnected power ; but it 
was the very essence of all power. Its inconceivable 
magnitude and constitution were such as not to develop 
forces, but omnipotent power ! " 

" Matter and power," he goes on to say, " were ex- 
isting as a whole, inseparable. The matter contained 
the substance to produce all suns, all worlds, and sys- 
tems of worlds, throughout the immensity of space. It 
contained qualities to produce all things that are exist- 
ing upon each of these worlds. The poiver contained 
wisdom and goodness, — justice, mercy, and truth. It 
contained the original and essential principle that is 
displayed throughout immensity of space, controlling 
worlds and systems of worlds, and producing motion, 
life, sensation, and intelligence, to be impartially dis- 
seminated upon their surfaces as ultimates ! 

" This great centre of worlds, — this great power of 
intelligence, — this great germ of existences — was one 
world ! — corresponding to a globe visible ; for it was 
but one, — containing the materials and power to pro- 
duce all others. It had wisdom equal to matter to plan 
them and direct their infinite movements. It had good- 
ness equal to the extent of its substance, to give perfect 
harmony and distributive usefulness to all parts of this 
infinitude. It had justice ; but only to be manifested 
in proportion to developments of suitable mediums 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 9 

upon these subordinate spheres, or forms of the great 
sphere. It had mercy, lenity, and forbearance, to be 
developed as corresponding with like developments in 
sensitive and intelligent beings. It contained truth 
eternalized, like its own nature. So the whole of these 
principles were joined in one vast vortex of pure intel- 
ligence." 

" The great original mass," he tells us, " was a sub- 
stance containing within itself the embryo of its own 
perfection. It became pregnated by virtue of its own 
laws, and was controlled, guided, and perfected, by vir- 
tue of its own omnipotent power." From eternity up 
to a given period, as he subsequently informs us, while 
it contained in itself the laws and principles of pro- 
gression, it had not progressed. " It contained the 
povjer of progression, but had not progressed." 

Such, according to our seer, was the original condi- 
tion of matter prior to creation ; a condition in which 
that substance had, up to a certain period, continued 
from eternity. How were the worlds and the systems 
of worlds originated from this "mass of liquid fire?" 
Around this mass, he tells us, was an atmosphere ex- 
tending infinitely in all directions. The mass itself, at 
length began to evaporize light, heat, and other mate- 
rials adapted to the formation of suns and worlds. The 
substances thus evaporated were borne upward by the 
atmosphere referred to, and " became at length a nebu- 
lous zone [a zone, as we are informed in these revela- 
tions, corresponding to the rings of Saturn] surround- 
ing the immensity of space ! " Such is the language 
of our seer. A tolerably large zone that, — a zone 
which surrounds the immensity of space. " By con- 
stant action and development of the particles thus sub- 
jected to the motion of attraction, repulsion, and the 



10 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

law of condensation ; by a repelling of that which was 
averse to the process of condensation, and an attracting 
of that which was of like affinity, and suitable to be- 
come a part of the same mass, the formation of worlds 
was first instituted." Suns were first formed, and from 
these planets, etc. Thus one circle or ring of suns and 
worlds was commenced and perfected, — or in the lan- 
guage of our seer, " The first great ring of converging 
formations was thus commenced and completed." 

Subsequently, " after an unimaginable length of time," 
by a process precisely similar to that above described, 
another nebulous zone, either within or without the first, 
and which, our seer has forgotten to inform us, was 
formed, and from it another circle of systems, of suns 
and worlds " was instituted." Thus five such circles 
have already been " instituted," and a sixth is now in 
process of being " instituted," but is not yet complete. 

We have thus given a full, and as all who have seen 
the original will admit, a fair and correct statement of 
our seer's theory of creation. The way is now prepared 
for some remarks upon this theory. 

1. The first step, or great fact, in this process demand- 
ing our attention, is the formation of Deity. All spirit, 
as we are taught in these revelations, is an ultimate of 
matter. God, as a spirit, as given in the theory under 
consideration, is no exception to this principle. He is 
an ultimate of the original condition of matter, which 
was such as " to develop for us omnipotent power," 
" power containing wisdom and goodness — justice, 
mercy, and truth." The whole of these principles, joined 
"into one vast vortex of pure intelligence," constitute 
the God of these revelations. And how was this ulti- 
mate of matter, this " vortex of pure intelligence," this 
" omnipotent power," this " great positive mind " pro- 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 11 

duced, or, in the language of our seer, developed ? By a 
vast amount of matter in such a state of intense heat, as 
to constitute " one boundless, undefinable, and unimag- 
inable ocean of liquid fire." Matter to a certain amount, 
and heated to a certain degree of intensity, being given, 
and, as the necessary result, we have developed a God, 
— "a great positive mind," possessed of " omnipotent 
power," and all possible perfections. If we had a 
smaller amount of matter heated to the same degree of 
intensity, we should have a God still, a lesser one to be 
sure, but still a real " positive mind." We should have 
just as many Gods, as we could have masses of matter 
thus heated. These are the necessary, undeniable con- 
sequences of the fundamental principles of this theory. 
This is the theology of " Andrew Jackson Davis, the 
Poughkeepsie seer and clairvoyant," the only theology 
we are told that is written upon " the wide spread scroll 
of the heavens, where every star is a word and every 
constellation a sentence." We, for ourselves, have en- 
deavored to read this scroll ; we have attentively looked 
at the stars, and the constellations too ; but we have 
been able to find no such theology there. Before we 
should surrender our faith in 

" That dearest of books that excels every other, 
The old family Bible that lies on the stand," 

to embrace such a theology as this, we should ask con- 
siderable time for sober reflection. 

The theology of our seer has one merit, to say the 
least, that of entire originality, as far as our knowledge 
extends. The idea that matter, heated to a certain de- 
gree of intensity, will generate, or develop, mind, " pos- 
itive mind," and that " one boundless," [not so bound- 
less, but that it may still be surrounded by six, and an 



12 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

infinite number of other circles of suns and worlds,] 
" undefinable, unimaginable ocean of liquid fire," would 
generate, or develop the great positive mind, namely, 
God, — such an idea never danced in our brain, till we 
met it in these " divine revelations." And what would 
become of this " great positive mind," should this 
" ocean of liquid fire " once burn out ? an effect, which, 
from the laws of matter, must occur, in the progress of 
the eternal future. This mass, however large, must be 
finite and limited, and in perpetually giving off from 
itself the materials for the formation of unnumbered 
suns and worlds, must, at length, totally burn out, and 
consequently wholly cease to give off such materials, or 
it must become totally evaporated. There is no escap- 
ing this conclusion. Where then will be our fire-begot- 
ten, or fire-developed, and consequently fire-sustained 
divinity? If this theology is true, the universe must 
soon be without a God, without any "great positive 
mind." 

2. To our limited capacities, there is another funda- 
mental error in the theology of our seer. No cause can 
generate or develop an effect greater than itself. This 
is a first truth of science. Now this " ocean of liquid 
fire," as a cause, must, as we have already seen, be in 
its nature limited, finite. It is so, according to the posi- 
tive teachings of our seer ; for he affirms, that this very 
ocean is already surrounded by six circles of suns and 
worlds. How then can such a cause develop " omnip- 
otent power ? " The idea is just as inconceivable and 
impossible as the supposition, that a globe two feet in 
diameter actually fills and occupies infinite space. Per- 
haps our seer is not a little extravagant in the use of 
language, and by " Omnipotent power " he means 
merely a very great, but yet finite and limited power. 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 13 

If so, we have only to reply, that his " great positive 
mind," in that case, is a being finite and imperfect like 
ourselves, and is not the deity to whom the intellectual 
and moral nature of universal mind is fundamentally 
and immutably correlated. A Deity of absolute infin- 
ity and perfection is the only " great positive mind " 
that responds to the nature of universal finite mind. 
According to this theology, the final ultimate of matter, 
rational mind, is fundamentally correlated to the unreal 
instead of the real, as far as God is concerned. The 
theology of our seer therefore breaks the harmony of 
nature, instead of filling out and perfecting it. 

3. We now advance to the consideration of a diffi- 
culty fundamentally involved in our seer's theory of cre- 
ation, a difficulty which demonstrably renders the valid- 
ity of that theory an absolute impossibility. Accord- 
ing to this theory, creation, or the formation of worlds, 
had a beginning, in time. This fact is distinctly af- 
firmed by the author himself. The time was, he tells 
us, when the great central, primal mass was "one 
world," when it " contained the power of progression, 
but had not progressed." He not only represents the 
process of creation as having had a beginning in time, 
but as not being yet completed, — the sixth circle of suns 
and worlds being now in a process of unconsummated 
completion, the other five having had their origin, and 
having attained to their completion in time. Accord- 
ing to our seer, also, the process of creation is progres- 
sive, and progressive in one direction exclusively, from 
the less to the more perfect. " Array no arguments, 
therefore," he says, " against the truthful and magnifi- 
cent doctrine of progressive development." Now " pro- 
gressive development," that is progress from the less 
in the direction of the more perfect, the doctrine every- 

2 



14 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

where proclaimed by our seer, implies a beginning in 
time ; otherwise creation would now, the progress hav- 
ing been eternal, and consequently infinite, have already 
attained to infinity and perfection. It has not thus at- 
tained, even according to our seer himself. It therefore 
had a beginning in time. This will be universally ad- 
mitted. From eternity up to a given period, this now 
central mass, this " ocean of liquid fire," pervaded by 
the " great positive mind," existed alone, not having 
evaporated or radiated any substances adapted to the 
formation of worlds. Had this evaporation been from 
eternity, so a£so must have been the formation of worlds, 
or, by the laws of matter, that formation never could 
have occurred at all. As by the law of necessity, which 
is fundamental in the philosophy of oar author, what 
did not occur could not possibly have occurred, this 
mass, this " ocean of liquid fire," pervaded by the " great 
positive mind," had existed from eternity to the period 
named, without the possibility of producing any evapo- 
rations whatever suitable to the formation of suns and 
worlds. How shall we account for the commencement 
of evaporation from this " expanse of liquid substance," 
at the moment referred to? Would not the same 
reasons which rendered it impossible for this cause to 
produce this result from eternity to the moment referred 
to, have rendered it impossible for the same identical 
cause to produce that result to eternity ? From eter- 
nity to the period named, according to this theory, this 
mass could, by no possibility, produce these evapora- 
tions. From that moment onward, it could not possi- 
bly but produce them. Yet the mass itself, with all the 
laws and causes, external and internal, operating upon 
it, remained all the while immutably the same. If a 
theory involving such contradictions can be true, then 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 15 

it is possible for the same thing, at the same time, to 
exist and not to exist. Evaporation, at the time, and 
from the cause assigned in this theory, is nothing else 
than an event without a cause. 

From the immutable laws of matter also, evaporation 
can take place but upon one condition, the impregnation 
of portions of matter with degrees of heat which they did 
not before possess, and thus changing them from a solid 
to a vaporous state. No such change could have oc- 
curred, at the moment referred to, in any portion of this 
" mass of liquid substance." The heat must have been 
equally diffused through all parts of it alike, and that 
from eternity. No new causes existed to generate new 
degrees of heat, in any portion of the mass, or in all 
combined. The evaporations then from which, accord- 
ing to our seer, the universe was formed, must have been 
an event without a cause, and by no possibility could 
have been any thing else. His theory is fundamentally 
self-contradictory and absurd, and its validity an abso- 
lute impossibility. 

4. Another difficulty, equally fundamental, is found in 
our seer's " nebulous zones," formed around the central 
mass, as the material for the institution of his six cir- 
cles of suns and worlds. If from a mass of liquid sub- 
stance existing in empty space, evaporations should 
occur, they would be in all directions equally, and could 
not possibly be otherwise. If from these evaporations, 
nebulous formations should be constituted at any dis- 
tance from the surface of the central mass, they would 
of necessity assume the form of hollow spheres, and not 
of zones, as our seer affirms, that is, worlds would be 
formed in all directions alike and equally around this 
mass, and not in circles, as asserted by our seer. The 
formation of such zones in the circumstances supposed, 



16 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

is an absolute impossibility, and that from the known 
immutable laws of matter. Consequently, if systems 
of suns and worlds were constituted from these nebulous 
formations, they would be in the form of converging 
spheres, and not of circles. Here, then, the theory of our 
seer falls to pieces upon another self-evident principle of 
science. 

5. But let us grant the formation of the nebulous 
zones referred to. The formation of systems of suns 
and worlds from them, would be an absolute impossi- 
bility. The central mass of liquid substance may be 
conceived of as surrounded or not surrounded with an 
atmosphere. In the latter case, all evaporations would 
be collected immediately around the central mass, and 
no nebulous zones or spheres could be formed. Should 
any portions of the matter thus evaporated become con- 
solidated, they would thereby become heavier than the 
other portions of the evaporations around them, and 
would, by the laws of gravitation, fall back into the cen- 
tral mass from which they had been separated. If the 
mass referred to were surrounded with an atmosphere, 
the theory of our seer, the matter evaporated would be 
borne upward till its specific gravity, and that of the 
atmosphere sustaining it, became equal. There such 
matter would remain in the form of clouds, till portions 
of the same should become consolidated. Such por- 
tions, by that means, becoming heavier than the atmos- 
phere which had previously sustained them, would then, 
as in the case above stated, fall back again into the 
central mass, and not remain as systems of suns and 
worlds. From the immutable laws of matter no other 
results could follow. This is demonstrably evident. 
The universe cannot have been constituted in accord- 
ance with the theory of our author, unless there has 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 17 

not only been an event without a cause, but in opposi- 
tion to the immutable laws and constitution of universal 
nature. 

So much for our seer's theory pertaining to the " in- 
stitution" of the system of suns and worlds now exist- 
ing in the immensity of space ; a theory which any 
schoolboy can perceive, on a moment's reflection, can 
by no possibility be true. "We might specify additional 
contradictions and absurdities in this theory to the bur- 
dening of our readers. The above are sufficient, how- 
ever, to accomplish what we intended, when we took up 
our pen, — the demonstration of the fact, that its valid- 
ity is an absolute impossibility. As a philosopher, our 
seer evinces the profoundest ignorance of the most pal- 
pable and generally known laws of matter, the only real 
substance, according to his " divine revelations." As 
a theorizer, he is a very poor copyist of Lamarck, and 
the author of the development theory — a theory which 
any man of real science would now be ashamed to 
avow, which science has long since exploded, which has 
not a single decisive fact in the wide universe to sustain 
it, or render its truth even probable, and which is most 
absolutely contradicted by all the facts of geology and 
other sciences bearing upon the subject. 

Having shown, by a reference to his central princi- 
ples, that as a teacher of science, he is nothing but a 
false light, we shall follow him no further in this depart- 
ment of inquiry, but will now advance to a considera- 
tion of his reliability as a narrator of facts, facts about 
which we have certain knowledge. We shall give but 
a few examples. These, however, will be of such a de- 
cisive and fundamental character as to enable our read- 
ers to form an unerring judgment upon our revelator's 
real merits. 

2* 



18 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

In his revelations pertaining to the book of Nehemiah, 
page 449, we find the following sentence. "For a 
truthful understanding of the contents of some of the 
previous books, this [the book of Nehemiah] and fol- 
lowing ones, I would refer the reader to the theological 
writings of Swedenborg, the enlightened philosopher — 
especially to the valuable work entitled ' Summaria Ex- 
positio Sensus Prophetici.' " In regard to the important 
statements referred to as in these works, we have the 
authority of Prof. Bush for saying, — 1. That in none 
of his writings has Swedenborg given any account or 
explanation of the. book of Nehemiah. 2. That he has 
never written any work whatever under the title above 
named. 3. That the exclusive design of the only 
work which he did write in respect to the prophets, was 
to show, that the prophetic writings have a meaning 
which our seer affirms attaches to no parts of the Bible 
whatever. How safe to follow our author implicitly in 
professed revelations pertaining to the invisible, w T hen 
we find him such a safe guide in respect to the visible ! 

The next statement to which we refer is found on 
page 507, and is regarded by our seer as of very great 
importance, his design being nothing less than to do 
away with the evidence in favor of the divine origin 
and authority of Christianity, derived from miracles. " It 
is said," he remarks, " that Christ had a divine commis- 
sion, to prove and establish which, he performed many 
incomprehensible miracles. How such an opinion can 
be derived from the literal teachings of the New Testa- 
ment, it is impossible to conceive ; for although Mat- 
thew and the apostles seriously believed in miracles, 
they have not, in all their writings, intimated that these 
are designed as a confirmation of Christ's mission, nor 
do they represent him as ever making any such declara- 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 19 

tion." A more false and reckless statement, we think, 
can hardly be found in any author, ancient or modern ; 
a statement indicating the grossest ignorance of what 
children ought to understand, or a very singular pre- 
sumption in respect to the ignorance of his readers. In 
Matt. 9 : 6, Christ is affirmed to have performed a mir- 
acle for the express and avowed purpose of confirming 
his divine mission. " That ye may know, that the Son 
of man hath power on earth to forgive sins," then hav- 
ing made this appeal, it is affirmed that he performed 
this miracle, the healing of the sick of the palsy. In 
Matt. 11 : 4-6, Christ is recorded as having appealed to 
his own miracles in proof of the fact that he was the 
Messiah. In John 11 : 15, Christ is recorded as affirm- 
ing, that one object of the miracle which he was about to 
perform, the raising of Lazarus, was the confirmation of 
the faith of his disciples in his divine mission ; " to the 
intent that ye may believe." At the grave, prior to the 
performance of this miracle, he makes a direct appeal 
to God, affirming that that appeal was made, not on his 
own account, but on that of the people around him, to 
induce them to believe in his divine mission. " Because 
of the people which stand by, I said it, that they may be- 
lieve that thou hast sent me." To the same purpose are 
the words of Christ, as recorded John 10 : 37, 38, " If I 
do not the works of my Father, believe me not. But if I 
do, though ye believe not me, believe the works ; that 
ye may know and believe that the Father is in me, and 
I in him." In John 15 : 2, Christ also is recorded as 
saying, that, but for his miracles, no guilt would attach 
to the Jews for not believing in him ; and that because 
of the same, they were without excuse. We need not 
multiply quotations and references, on a point so clear. 



20 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

One visible existence our seer reveals, most incorrectly 
reveals, and that is the Scriptures of truth. 

On page 497, we find the following statement, affirm- 
ing a fact which is entirely new to us. " Luke repre- 
sents Jesus as being about thirty years of age when he 
began to preach, and that at that time, [the time when 
he began to preach,] Herod sought his life, while Mat- 
thew relates that Herod died before he returned from 
Egypt." Now every commonly taught Sabbath school 
child knows, that Luke nowhere affirms that any man 
bearing the name of Herod, at any time, sought the life 
of Christ, much less at " that time," the time when 
Christ began to preach. In chapter 13 : 31, Luke af- 
firms that certain Pharisees, after Christ had been for 
some years preaching the gospel, told him that if he re- 
mained in the place where he then was, that Herod 
would kill him. Christ gave them full leave to in- 
form Herod of his whereabouts, at the same time as- 
serting that no danger was to be apprehended from that 
quarter. Nor does Matthew anywhere affirm that this 
Herod had died before Christ left Egypt. 

We shall adduce but one other example of our seei -1 s 
safety as a guide in history. We refer to various state- 
ments which he has put forth, in regard to the sacred 
canon, the New Testament especially. On pages 497, 
498, he affirms of the books of Matthew and Luke, that 
"these manuscripts were uncollected and uncompiled 
for more than three hundred years after the birth and life 
of Christ." On pages 547, 548, we have the following : 
" Also remember, reader, that when you read the encyclo- 
paedia of religious knowledge called the Bible, you are 
merely reading a book pronounced the word of God by 
three hundred exasperated bishops, and sealed by their 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 21 

Emperor Constant] ne. Moreover, reflect that nearly as 
many manuscripts as are now embodied in the Old 
Testament, suffered martyrdom. And why, or how, or 
by whose imperative command, shall we believe that 
those which are saved are the "word of God, any more 
than those which were destroyed ? " 

On page 644, he tells us, that the books of James and 
Jude, and the Revelation of John, ," were not received 
into the New Testament as pure and canonical until 
nearly three hundred years after the Council of Nice." 
This council met in the year 325, at the command of 
the Emperor Constantine, and was, according to our seer, 
originally constituted of two thousand and forty-eight 
bishops, who were, as he further attests, assembled to 
settle the sacred canon. The following is his, (our 
seer's,) account of this council. On account of their 
violent and vociferous conduct, " Constantine," he says, 
" was obliged to disqualify seventeen hundred and thirty 
from having a voice in deciding which books were, and 
which were not the word of God ; and only three hun- 
dred and eighteen were left. These decided that the 
books which composed the Bible, as subsequently 
known, were the word of God. Several books, how- 
ever, have since that time, been rejected, but of fifty 
gospels then extant, they decided that those only of 
Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, were worthy of being 
preserved; while they rejected entirely the books of 
James, Jude, and the Apocalypse. After this decision, 
Constantine solemnly declared that the same should be 
considered as sanctioned by the divine will, and that the 
books thus fixed upon should thereafter be implicitly be- 
lieved as the word of God. Those manuscripts that 
were rejected, (among which were three well-written 
gospels,) were committed to the flames." Our seer has 



22 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

said much more to the same purpose. But this must 
suffice. 

Now what are the real facts of the case, relative to 
the above sweeping statements ? Aside from the fact 
that the council referred to did assemble at the time 
designated, and at the call of the individual named, we 
think that we are quite safe in the affirmation that there 
is not, in the above. extracts, a solitary statement that is 
true, that is not, in all respects, the total opposite of 
what is true. We will specify a few examples. 

1. Two thousand and forty-eight bishops never as- 
sembled as members of this council. Nor were seven- 
teen hundred and thirty, nor any other number, forcibly 
excluded by Constantine. All but the three hundred 
and eighteen which did sit as members of the council 
were there as mere spectators, on account of the intense 
interest which was universally felt in the question of 
doctrine then to be acted upon, and this is a well-known 
fact in history. 

2. The canon of Scripture was not, in any form, agi- 
tated, or voted upon in this council. Nor was there any 
disagreement among the different and opposite parties 
in the council on this subject. The object for which 
the council was called was altogether another and dif- 
ferent affair, namely, the settlement of the Arian con- 
troversy, the Orthodox and Arians being as perfectly 
agreed in respect to the canon of Scripture, as the Or- 
thodox and Unitarians now are. In the sentence passed 
upon Arius, in the letter sent forth by the council to the 
churches, in the famous creed then formed, and in the 
canons passed, there is not a solitary allusion to what, 
according to our seer, was the main subject of dispute 
in the council. Our seer might, with the same propri- 
ety, have made the same assertions pertaining to the 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 23 

sacred canon, in reference to any other council of the 
church, ancient or modern, as in regard to this. 

3. No books whatever, claimed to be a part of the sa- 
cred canon, were directed to be committed to the flames 
by this council. The only books which suffered mar- 
tyrdom, by its order, if any did, were the works of 
Arms, works which were perfectly at one with the 
Orthodox portion of the council on the subject of the 
sacred canon. 

4. Instead of deciding, as our seer affirms they did, 
" that of fifty gospels then extant, only those of Mat- 
thew, Mark, Luke, and John were worthy of being pre- 
served," they passed no resolutions on the subject, one 
way or the other. 

5. Instead of " rejecting James, Jude, and the Apoca- 
lypse," they and all the other books of the New Testa- 
ment were assumed as belonging to the sacred canon, 
just as much, and for precisely the same reasons, that 
they are thus assumed in all assemblies of the saints 
which are held in modern times. The question of the 
reception or rejection of these or any other books claimed 
to belong to the sacred canon was not moved or acted 
upon in the council in any form whatever. 

6. This council had nothing to do with questions per- 
taining to the sacred canon, for the obvious reason that 
such questions had long previously been settled. In the 
writings of the Christian fathers prior to this council, 
we find formal catalogues perfectly agreeing with our 
own. We also find commentaries on the same. Ori- 
gen, about a century previous, wrote a threefold com- 
mentary on the New Testament, and gave a catalogue 
of the books embraced in it, comprising all now con- 
tained in it, and none others. These books were, as 
they now are, most extensively quoted as of divine au- 



24 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

thority, and none others were ever thus quoted. Sev- 
eral years prior to this council, Athanasius the great 
leader of the Orthodox party, and Eusebius, one of the 
most influential members of the Arian, gave forth formal 
catalogues of the books of the New Testament. That 
of the former perfectly agrees with ours, and that of the 
latter with this exception. Eusebius affirms that all 
these books but James, Jude, 2 and 3 of John, and Rev- 
elation, had, from the first, been universally regarded, 
by the church, as of divine authority, and that these 
had been thus received by the majority. While the 
books now constituting the New Testament, were thus 
received by the church, none but these were received, as 
of divine authority, none others were included in the 
catalogues given by the Christian writers of the sacred 
books. None, as such, were made the subjects of com- 
mentary, or were thus cited in their writings. These 
are the simple facts of the case, facts as well known 
in history as any others can be. It is in the presence of 
such well-known and undeniable facts, that the broad, 
sweeping, bold, and impious assertions of our seer, per- 
taining to the sacred canon, are put forth. 

7. Our seer affirms, that the gospels of Matthew and 
Luke were " uncollected and un compiled for more than 
three hundred years after the birth and life of Jesus." 
At least, one hundred years prior to the period here 
named, one Christian writer published a harmony of 
these and the other two gospels ; another attempted to 
reconcile the genealogies given in them, and another 
still, wrote commentaries upon them, and numbered 
them expressly among the books universally received in 
the churches, as belonging to the sacred canon. More 
than a century previous to the same period, another 
Christian writer, Irenaeus, a disciple of Polycarp, who 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 25 

was a disciple of John, names the authors of the four 
Gospels, states the circumstances in which these books 
were written, and then affirms that no other gospels but 
these were received as of divine authority in the churches. 
Many other references equally to our purpose might be 
made. These, however, are sufficient. 

Such is the credibility of our divine revelator in the 
narration of facts of history. We have made our selec- 
tions almost at random, and we leave the examples ad- 
duced to speak for themselves. Any one -who "would 
receive with confidence the professed revelations of a 
person in respect to things invisible, who has been con- 
victed of such errors, misstatements, and falsehoods in 
regard to " things seen," would heed no remarks of ours 
upon the subject. In our judgment, our seer has hardly 
a parallel, as far as recklessness in statements pertain- 
ing to matters-of-fact is concerned. 

Before leaving this department of our subject, how- 
ever, the relations of our seer to the visible, we will pre- 
sent a single example of his revelations in respect to 
things to us invisible. Of the inhabitants of Mars, we 
have the following description : — 

" Sentiments arising upon their minds become in- 
stantly impressed upon their countenances ; " [they 
have no hypocrites there who " steal the livery of 
heaven to serve the devil in ; "] " and they use their 
mouth and tongue for their specific offices, and not as 
agents of conversation. But that glowing radiation 
which illumes their face while conversing, is to us incon- 
ceivable. Their eyes are blue and of a soft expression," 
[" variety is not the spice of life " therej " are very full 
and expressive, and are their most powerful agents in 
conversation. Where one conceives a thought and de- 
sires to express it, he casts his beaming eyes upon the 

3 



26 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

eyes of another, and his sentiments instantly become 
known." 

On reading the above, we were powerfully "im- 
pressed " with a fact or two which occurred when we 
were crossing the ocean. On board the same vessel was 
a young man of respectable appearance, who had one 
very singular peculiarity. He would become almost 
distracted if he wanted any thing, and it was not in- 
stantly brought to him. One day he and ourself were 
sitting in opposite corners of " the smoke room," while 
the other passengers were taking their dinner, we being 
unable to partake from that form of sickness so com- 
mon under such circumstances. While we were thus 
seated, one of the waiters passed by the door, at the 
corner of the room the most distant from the place 
where the young man was seated. As soon as the 
waiter appeared, the young man leaped up, and rushing 
forward, cried out at the top of his voice, and with a 
perfect wail of anguish, " Waiter ! , waiter ! waiter ! " 
We have seldom heard a louder cry, or one uttered 
with greater apparent anguish. " Whal do you want ? " 
replied the waiter. " / want some rice pudding" was 
the deeply sorrowful reply. If we had only been inhab- 
itants of the planet Mars then, the distracted young 
man would have just " cast his beaming eyes upon the 
eyes " of the waiter, and the latter would have instantly 
perceived the exact object desired, namely, " some rice 
pudding." During that voyage, we had also, at a par- 
ticular period, a somewhat to us, singular experience. 
For several days previous we had hardly been able to 
partake of a particle of food, and it seemed to us that 
we should never desire to taste it again. At length one 
specific object which had never before been a favorite 
article with us, became, to the total exclusion of all 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 27 

others, an object of most intense desire, that of a cold 
boiled turnip. We finally, in the midst of our suf- 
ferings, forced our way to the kitchen, and asked the 
waiter if he could not furnish us with that one object. 
What was our suffering, when he told us, that there 
was no such article in readiness. O, had we been 
crossing one of the oceans of Mars, at that time, all 
that we should need to have done, would have been to 
" cast our beaming [blue] eyes upon the eyes " of one 
of the waiters as he appeared, and he would instantly 
have perceived, with absolute distinctness and accura- 
cy, the great thought that lay with such weight upon 
our heart, and the wish, too, that was the father of that 
thought, the idea of a cold boiled turnip. Such is the 
blissful condition of the inhabitants of Mars according 
the " divine revelations " of " Andrew Jackson Davis, 
the Poughkeepsie Seer," and " he is a heretic dog that 
but adds Betty Martyn" to what that divine seer 
has written. His other revelations in regard to things 
unseen, are just as credible as the above. 

We now advance to a consideration of the last topic 
of remark in this article, namely, the real moral charac- 
ter of this professedly divine revelator. There are but 
two points of light in which we can regard him — as a 
self-deceived enthusiast who honestly supposes himself 
uttering " truth eternalized," while he is giving expres- 
sion to the merest errors, contradictions, and absurdities 
conceivable, — or, like the founder of Mormonism, a de- 
liberate impostor. It is in the latter character exclu- 
sively that we are compelled to regard this individual, 
and we will give our reasons for thus regarding him. 

We have long been taught to estimate no man's 
moral character as being better than his deliberately 
formed and entertained moral principles ; and we hold 



28 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the truth of such a maxim to be self-evident. We be- 
lieve that no man is practically honest who entertains 
and propagates a system of belief, that in all respects 
gives the lie to the immutable dictates of his own moral 
nature. If there is any thing that is an immutable dic- 
tate of that nature, it is that there is an eternal and im- 
mutable distinction between actions as morally right or 
morally wrong ; that the most sacred and inviolable obli- 
gation rests upon us to do the one and avoid the other ; 
and that the desert of good or ill necessarily attaches to 
us, as we comply or refuse to comply with the behest 
of the law of duty. When an individual denies these 
distinctions, and cherishes the opposite sentiment, the 
bottom has dropped out of his moral character, and no 
foundation is left upon which to build a character for 
integrity, purity, and virtue. 

Now what are the principles of our seer on this sub- 
ject? — principles to the propagation of which he has 
consecrated his life ? He has one merit here, that of 
self-consistency. He is an openly avowed materialist, 
and, as such, is throughout a consistent necessitarian. 
All the actions of all beings, man not excepted, he 
teaches, are subject to one immutable law. In the cir- 
cumstance's of their occurrence, they cannot be other- 
wise than they are. Man, therefore, cannot be under 
obligation to do differently from what he does, or incur, 
by any actions he may perform, the desert of moral good 
or ill. Moral obligation has no place in his system, and 
he does not profess to give it a place there. " Sin in- 
deed," he says, " in the common acceptation of the term, 
does not really exist ; but what is called sin is merely a 
misdirection of man's physical or spiritual powers which 
generates unhappy consequences." All effects, human 
conduct not excepted, are, according to our author, a 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 29 

necessary result of the immutable laws of nature, and 
cannot, by any possibility, be otherwise than they are. 
How, then, can such results be a misdirection of such 
powers ? 

It is with the moral principles of our seer, however, 
that we now have to do. In another place he tells us, 
that, " The nature of the mental and physical constitu- 
tion of mankind is divine, perfect, and harmonious. 
This will never deceive. It is perfectly good, and repre- 
sents the divineness of its origin and cause. Deception, 
however, exists in the world, and all description of dis- 
simulation. But these do not flow from the interior of 
man's nature, but arise merely as a consequence of his 
unholy, imperfect, and vitiated situation in reference to 
his fellow beings. Unholy situations produce unholy 
effects. But the interior principle which is of divine 
origin, cannot be made evil, nor can it be contaminated. 
And all evil is of external and superficial origin, and is 
felt by all as external ; and hence, in order to banish all 
evil from the earth, a change must occur in the social 
condition of the whole world." Again he says : " The 
innate divineness of the spirit of man prohibits the pos- 
sibility of spiritual wickedness, or unrighteousness." In 
other words, the external actions may be wrong, in con- 
sequence of the wrong situation of man physically, but 
the existence of real moral depravity or wrong is an 
absolute impossibility. Man can no more sin, according 
to the proper signification of that term, that is, perform 
an act really and strictly morally wrong, than a steam- 
engine ! 

Such are the sentiments which our seer glories in 
propagating. Now we say that no man can hold and 
teach such sentiments, and yet retain his moral integrity 
and purity, any more than individuals can deliberately 

3* 



30 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

perpetrate acts of piracy, murder, arson, seduction, rob- 
bery, theft, and not perpetrate acts morally wrong. The 
moral sentiments can be corrupted only by internal 
moral depravity and corruption. 

We will not judge him, however, merely by his prin- 
ciples, but by his acts, — at least by one of them, which, 
in our judgment, is sufficiently decisive to mark his real 
character, indelibly. The past fall and winter, nearly 
one year ago, our seer performed a mission in some of 
the western States. When in the city of Cleveland, 
(we were there at the time,) and while delivering a 
public lecture, he suddenly stopped, and for some min- 
utes seemed to be in one of his favorite states of ab- 
straction, or spiritual revery. On coming to himself, 
he remarked that he was deeply, painfully impressed 
with woman's rights. " Will Horace Mann," he ex- 
claimed, " lecture in this city, this winter ? He will. 
Will his subject be Woman ? It will." Our seer then 
requested that portion of the audience who should 
hear Mr. Mann, to compare what he should now utter 
with what Mr. M. should utter on his arrival, and care- 
fully mark the correspondence between them. He then 
delivered a very spirit-stirring paragraph, in which the 
audience was intensely interested. He professed to the 
audience that, during the revery referred to, he had had 
a vision of Mr. M.'s manuscript, and thus obtained the 
extract delivered. When our seer was through, a gen- 
tleman in the audience arose, and remarked that he 
also was impressed to say, that what the speaker had 
just uttered, as obtained through a vision of an un- 
printed manuscript, could be found, word for word, in a 
certain number of the New York Tribune ; and that, if 
desired, he would produce the paper and read the para- 
graph to the audience. Our seer, of course, was taken 



CLAIRVOYANT REVELATIONS. 31 

all aback by such an announcement, and remarking 
that he did not read the newspapers, went on with his 
lecture. 

We state facts as they were published in the daily 
papers of that city, while our seer was there ; and to 
our knowledge they have never been contradicted or 
explained by him or his friends. An individual who 
boarded at the same house with our seer, while he was 
in that city, remarked to us that Mr. Davis was, while 
there, to his personal knowledge, a very diligent reader 
of the papers. On his arrival in that city, Mr. Mann 
remarked to us, that up to that time, he had regarded 
Mr. Davis as a sincere but self-deceived enthusiast ; but 
that now he was compelled to regard him as a deliber- 
ate impostor ; and that for the reason that not a single 
sentence contained in the extract could be found in his 
manuscript ; that the former was a very condensed re- 
port of a lecture which he had previously delivered 
in the city of New York. Such a fact, in our judg- 
ment, speaks volumes, and it " tells us no lies," but 
places our seer in the same position as the Mormon 
prophet. 

Our remarks upon these " divine revelations," have 
been very concise, and were designed to be. Enough 
has been written, however, to characterize the whole 
work and its author. If the philosophy on which these 
revelations are based is intrinsically absurd and contra- 
dictory ; if, in the statement of known facts of history, 
he is proved to be a gross deceiver ; and if his moral 
principles are fundamentally subversive of all morality ; 
his character as a " divine revelator " is a fixed fact, 
and no further examination of his orgies is demanded.' 
We have said enough, we think, to establish, incon- 
trovertibly, all these propositions. Aside from the de- 



32 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

sign of exposing the character of these revelations, we 
have had two ulterior designs in the preparation of this 
article. 

We have designed, in the first place, to indicate the 
fundamental objections which lie against the doctrine 
of materialism, in all the possible forms in which it 
may be developed. If the theory of our seer cannot be 
true, and we think we have shown that it cannot, then 
no form of materialism can be true ; for precisely simi- 
lar objections lie against every other form of that sys- 
tem as against this. The objection that lies against 
every form of the system that can be devised, may be 
thus stated : If materialism, in any form, is true, then 
creation cannot have had a beginning in time, but 
must have been from eternity. Creation had a begin- 
ning in time : therefore that system, in all its forms, 
must be false. 

This article was also designed as preparatory to 
another, an article on the character of modern " spirit 
revelations." In giving our readers some principles by 
which they could judge of the character of these reve- 
lations, we deemed it advisable to begin with the foun- 
der of this new religion, and especially to reveal the 
character of " the harmonial philosophy," which " the 
spirits " seem almost if not quite universally to have 
adopted. If " the spirits " are fundamentally wrong in 
their philosophy, and we think we have already shown 
them to be, they are most assuredly not worthy to be 
trusted in any of their revelations. 



PART II. 

THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS," OR THE PHENOMENA 
OF SPIRITUALISM EXPLAINED, AND EXPOSED. 

The tendency of human depravity, in all ages, has 
been to supplant the worship of " the incorruptible God" 
by that of " corruptible man, and birds, and four-footed 
beasts, and creeping things." " In these last days," this 
same principle is being carried out, by attempting to 
substitute for the revelations of the spirit of this " incor- 
ruptible God," those of pretended spirits of corruptible 
men. No revelations which descend to us from this 
professed mission of "the spirits," lay claim to any 
higher origin. A revelation coming from the bosom 
and heart of infinity and perfection, absolutely adapted, 
in all respects, to meet perfectly the spiritual necessities 
of universal humanity, and revealing in its own nature 
and intrinsic adaptations-, as well as in its external evi- 
dences, the clearest possible indications of its origin from 
no other cause than the spirit of God, is, if the mission 
of "the spirits" attains its end-, to be supplanted by 
pretended revelations of the spirits of men, revelations 
as discordant in themselves as the jargon of Babel, 
having no adaptations to the necessities of humanity, in 
any form, physical, intellectual, or moral, and which are 
totally wanting, as we expect to show, in any positive 
claims to any connection whatever with any real spirits 

(33) 



34 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

in " the spirit land," much less with those whose honest 
intention is to reveal nothing but the truth. 

We may be permitted, in the outset of our remarks, 
to recur to a fact noticed, in our first article, on the gen- 
eral subject under consideration, a fact which throws a 
most "disastrous twilight" of worse than uncertainty 
over this mission of " the spirits ; " the fact that, in almost 
no one point, do they so unanimously agree, as in affirm- 
ing the truth of the " harmonial philosophy," — a phi- 
losophy which, as we have already shown, can no more 
be true, than the proposition, that things equal to the 
same things are not equal to one another. Among the 
standard works issued from " the spirit press," we have, 
for example, a professed revelation from the spirit of 
Thomas Paine, pertaining to the original condition of 
matter, and the origin, progress, and consummation of 
the work of creation. In this production, which was 
commended to our high regard by a very intelligent 
man in most respects, a graduate of Yale College, as 
solving most completely the great mystery under con- 
sideration, the fact of matter as the only substance, its 
original condition, a condition in which up to a certain 
period it had remained inoperative for any creative 
effects, from eternity, as a mass of liquid fire, and the 
origin and cause of creation from the spontaneous ac- 
tivity of this mass at that moment, are given precisely 
as set forth in "the divine revelations" of our Pousrh- 
keepsie seer. Here the two revelations diverge a little. 
According to the latter, all systems of suns and worlds 
were "instituted" from clouds of vapor spontaneously 
thrown off from the central mass. According to the 
former, from this same mass there was, at the moment 
referred to, spontaneously, from a law inherent in matter, 
thrown off masses of matter which passed away into the 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 35 

depths of space, and then stopping in their flight at the 
proper points, took their places as suns and worlds, each 
spontaneously revolving around its own axis, worlds 
beginning, in the same manner, to move in proper orbits 
around their central suns, and satellites around their 
respective centres, and all together constituting one har- 
monious universe. The individual that would for a 
moment credit such an account of creation, that does 
not instantly perceive it to be as absurd, self-contradic- 
tory, and its truth as impossible, as the supposition, that 
creative power resides in empty space, is prepared to 
believe any thing but truth, — truth revealed in all her 
internal harmony and self-consistency, and attended 
with all possible external evidence of its reality. Truth 
is too insubstantial a substance to find a lodgement in 
such a mind. Yet such is the philosophy of the spirits 
in regard to creation, of which they profess a perfect 
knowledge. Whatever else they know, they are cer- 
tainly very poor philosophers. Of the real laws of mind 
they know almost nothing ; of those of matter quite as 
little, and of neither do they know any thing correctly. 

Equally absurd is their theory pertaining to the con- 
dition of the spirits in the invisible world, — their exist- 
ence, we mean, in seven concentric circles or spheres. 
We have the authority of "the spirits" themselves, for 
discrediting any revelations even from them which do 
not accord with the great principles of matter and 
spirit already revealed to us, by experience and obser- 
vation. Now what is there in the analogy of human 
experience, or in the laws of our physical, mental, or 
moral nature, to indicate a future existence in such kind 
of spheres ? Absolutely nothing. Besides, if the law 
of human progression, which is to continue forever, de- 
mands seven such spheres, it would, for the same reason, 



36 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

demand seventy thousand — indeed an infinite number. 
" The spirits " are now, they affirm, distributed along 
'through these different circles or spheres, from the first 
to the seventh, according to intellectual and moral 
attainments. Among those in the first six circles, there 
is a continuous advance towards the seventh, where 
they all finally meet, and to all eternity remain together 
upon one common level. Now, if the progress of those 
in the sixth circle, for example, demands an ultimate 
admission to the seventh, why should not the advance- 
ment of those in this last demand an admission to one 
still higher, and so on to all eternity ? On what prin- 
ciple of classification, also, are " the spirits " all ar- 
ranged into seven, with no intermediate circles ? The 
same principles which would demand this number, 
would require just as many circles or spheres as there 
are individual spirits; for there are no two precisely 
alike. Besides, such a separation as the system under 
consideration presents, is the most unfavorable conceiv- 
able to the great ends for which the arrangement itself 
is made, to wit, universal intellectual and spiritual pro- 
gression. The most wise and the most pure are sepa- 
rated at the greatest remove from those who most need 
the influence of their instruction and example. Jesus 
Christ, we are informed in the work connected with the 
name of Judge Edmonds, is so far advanced, that such 
spirits as those of Swedenborg and Bacon, though they 
have been one or two centuries in the spirit land, have 
never yet got even a sight of him. For ourselves, we 
think this must be true of the spirits lubricating in that 
work. But think of the idea of the state even of the 
virtuous dead, as shadowed forth in such an arrange- 
ment of spiritual existences, an arrangement in which 
those who most need the highest forms of illumina- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIKITS." 37 

tion are placed at an unapproachable remove from it! 
Then the particular account given of these circles or 
spheres has but one characteristic which commends 
it to our regard, a perfect adaptation to secure the 
faith of credulous minds, namely, its perfect absurdity. 
That given by the spirit of Thomas Paine, we will 
notice as an illustration. 

All the circles or spheres for the inhabitants of this 
world, have the earth for their common centre. The 
first encircles the earth at about five thousand miles 
from its surface, if we rightly remember. A pretty 
solid pavement " the spirits " must have to walk upon 
there. What wonderful scenery they must have there 
in the presence of which " the spirits " may realize the 
great idea of endless progression ; scenery consisting of 
luxurious prairies in endless perspective, " hills peeping 
o'er hills," and mountains, rivers, lakes, oceans of corre- 
sponding sublimity, orchards, vineyards, fields of waving 
grain, all beaming with immortal luxuriance, imperish- 
able habitations, towns and cities with their alabaster 
foundations, gates of pearl, and streets of gold, looming 
up into untold magnificence, through their " cloud-capped 
towers, gorgeous palaces, and solemn temples." We 
have the most positive revelation from " the spirits," 
that the soul on escaping its clayey tenement does not 
escape the curse of labor. The first thing it is called 
to do, on entering the spirit land, is to erect its own 
habitation, and make provisions for its own sustenance, 
by a careful cultivation of the soil there. We think 
the soil is rather light up there in empty space, five 
thousand miles from the surface of the earth. 

The next sphere, with a scenery of still greatei 
beauty and sublimity, is located at a still greater dis- 
tance from the earth's surface, and so unto the seventh, 

4 



38 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

which encircles the universe. To what depths must 
human credulity have descended, when it can resort to 
sources from which such revelations as these proceed, 
for reliable information pertaining to the soul's im- 
mortal destiny ! 

We will now descend from the sphere of philosophy 
to a direct consideration of the claims of spiritualism to 
the high regard of which its advocates deem it so 
worthy. We wish to handle these pretended substan- 
tialities, "the spirits," and see if there is any thing 
really substantial about them. 

In discussing the subject before us, three, and only 
three, questions will occupy the attention of the reader, 
namely, whether we have any valid evidence that 
spirits out of the body have any agency in the produc- 
tion of these so called spirit manifestations ? what is 
the tendency of this spirit movement? and, certain 
topics of a miscellaneous character, bearing upon the 
general subject before us. 



CHAPTER I. 

HAVE WE VALID EVIDENCE THAT DISEMBODIED SPIRITS 
HAVE ANY AGENCY IN THESE MANIFESTATIONS ? 

At the outset of our investigations, in respect to this 
question, it will be necessary to any thing like a scien- 
tific procedure, to lay down definitely, certain funda- 
mental principles, which we may apply, as decisive tests 
of truth, in reference to any conclusions which have 
been, or may be deduced from the facts which lie in 



THE MISSION" OF " THE SPIRITS." 39 

our way, — and then to specify the character of the 
facts on which spiritualists rely, as proof of the truth of 
their theory. As fundamental test principles which 
should guide our investigations, and determine our con- 
clusions on this subject, we specify the following — 



TEST PRINCIPLES. 

1. No facts occurring in the world around us, are to 
be referred to any supernatural, '< "b extra spirit 
causes whatever, which facts can be adequately ac- 
counted for, by a reference to causes known to exist in 
this mundane sphere. 

2. No facts are to be referred to any particular super- 
natural, or ab extra spirit cause, unless they are of such 
a nature, that they can be accounted for, upon no other 
supposition. 

3. When particular causes are known to exist, all 
effects within and around us are to be attributed to such 
causes, effects resembling' and analogous to those known 
to proceed from such causes, effects especially which 
occur in circumstances where such causes may be rea- 
sonably supposed to be present. 

4. Even those facts for the occurrence of which no 
mundane causes, at present known, can be assigned, are 
not to be attributed to any ab extra causes whatever, or 
to the agency of disembodied spirits, when such facts 
are similar and analogous, in their essential characteris- 
tics, to other facts which once appeared equally myste- 
rious and unaccountable on any mundane hypothesis, 
but for which science subsequently discovered actual 
mundane causes. Such facts manifestly lie in the 
track of scientific discovery, and we must suppose them 
to be the result of mundane causes, which are yet to be 
discovered, though at present unknown to us. 



40 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

5. To establish the claims of spiritualism, its advo- 
cates must show, (1.) that the facts which they adduce 
are wholly dissimilar and unanalogous, in their essential 
characteristics, to any facts resulting from any mundane 
causes, and (2.) that the occurrence and characteristics 
of these facts can be accounted for, but upon one ex- 
clusive hypothesis, the agency of disembodied spirits. 
If similar and analogous facts do arise from purely 
mundane causes, it is a violation of all the laws and 
principles of ^'s'pnce and common sense, to attribute 
these phenomena to any ab extra cause whatever. 

The validity of these principles will be universally 
recognized as self-evident. Their applicability, as fun- 
damental tests of truth, to our present inquiries, is equal- 
ly manifest and undeniable. Their validity has been 
universally acknowledged by Christians, in reference to 
all miraculous attestations of the claims of Christianity 
to a divine origin and authority. 

FACTS ADDUCED TO SUSTAIN THE CLAIMS OF SPIRITUALISM. 

The facts on which the reality of the agency of spirits 
out of the body, in the production of these manifesta- 
tions, is affirmed, are all, without exception, compre- 
hended in the following classes, namely : — 

1. Facts of a purely physical character, such as the 
moving of tables, chairs, etc., movements which some- 
times accord with the thoughts and suggestions of in- 
quirers. 

2. Intelligent communications, by means of rapping 
sounds, speaking, and writing, phenomena which, in 
many instances, to say the least, occur wholly indepen- 
dently of the direct conscious agency of the mediums, 
or any other persons present, on the occasion. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 41 

3. Communications pertaining to subjects of which 
the mediums are profoundly ignorant, and yet found to 
be correct. 

4. Correct communications pertaining to facts be- 
lieved to be known only to the inquirer himself, and the 
particular spirit with whom he is professedly communi- 
cating. 

5. Similar communications containing correct re- 
sponses to purely mental questions. 

6. Communications conveying, in some instances, 
correct information, in respect to facts unknown to the 
inquirer, or any other person present. Facts falling un- 
der one or the other of the classes above named, are 
continuously occurring, it is claimed, in all parts of 
Christendom, and can be accounted for but upon one 
supposition, namely, that these communications pro- 
ceed from disembodied spirits. 

Such is the argument of spiritualists, as stated by 
themselves, and stated as strongly as ever, to our 
knowledge, given forth by any writer or speaker, who 
advocates the spirit theory. Either of the following 
positions may be taken by those who deny this theory. 
I. They may deny the facts put forward by spiritualists, 
and then meet the evidence adduced by them in favor 
of the actual occurrence of such facts. 2. Or they may 
admit the facts, and then meet the arguments based 
upon them. 3. Or, finally, they may deny both the facts 
and the conclusions based upon them, that is, they may 
take the ground, that the facts claimed by spiritualists 
are impositions, on the one hand, and that, if admitted 
as real, they do not sustain the claims of spiritualism, 
on the other. In each and every case alike, the burden 
of proof rests wholly upon the advocates of this new 
theory. All that its opponents have to do, unless they 
4* 



42 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

choose to proceed further, is to meet the facts and ar- 
guments adduced by its advocates to sustain its claims 
For ourselves, in conducting the argument, in the pres- 
ent treatise, we shall admit the facts claimed by spiritual- 
ists, and join issue with them simply and exclusively in 
regard to the conclusions which they deduce from them. 
We admit the facts for the all adequate reason, that 
after careful inquiry, we have been led to conclude that 
they are real. We think that no candid inquirer, who 
carefully investigates the subject, can come to any other 
conclusion. While we honestly believe, that there is 
more imposition connected with this movement, than 
with almost any other that can be named, yet we as 
fully believe, that a denial of the facts claimed by spirit- 
ualists, as comprehended under the classes above 
named, has its exclusive basis either in ignorance, or a 
state of prejudice which is blind to valid evidence. We 
have ourselves witnessed physical manifestations which, 
in our judgment, can be accounted for, by no reference 
to mere muscular action. 

A lady, for example, places her fingers gently upon a 
table or stand. Soon the object moves after her around 
the room, while yet no other person is in contact with 
the object, or in many feet of it, and her own fingers so 
lightly touch the smooth surface, or top of it, that 
the parts touching it are not perceptibly flattened in 
the least, on the one hand, nor the blood at all driven 
from under the finger nails, on the other. Who does 
not perceive, that the movements of such objects, under 
such circumstances, can be accounted for by no muscu- 
lar pressure and action whatever ? Yet we feel quite 
safe in vouching for the reality of just such facts, facts 
which are produced by individuals utterly repudiating 
spiritualism, in all its forms, facts utterly fatal, as we 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 43 

shall hereafter see, to its claims, as far as physical 
manifestations are concerned. That intelligent com- 
munications are obtained in the spirit circles, com- 
munications undeniably indicating their origin from 
some intelligent cause, is now doubted by none, and 
admitted by all. Equally undeniable is the fact, that 
correct responses are often obtained to questions per- 
taining to subjects of which it is honestly believed, 
and no reasons exist for an opposite conclusion, that 
all present are profoundly ignorant, but the inquirer and 
the spirit with whom he is professedly communicating. 
A stranger, for example, from the most distant part of 
this, or from any foreign country, in passing through a 
place which he never visited before, and in consequence 
of an unexpected delay, goes immediately and unat- 
tended from the cars into some spirit circle, where no one 
could have expected him, and where he meets not a soli- 
tary countenance or form of which he has the most dis- 
tant recollection. To all present, therefore, he has the 
best possible evidence that he is an utter stranger, whose 
visit no one anticipated. This individual, under these 
identical circumstances, may call for the spirit of some 
departed friend, and, on inquiry, obtain correct answers 
pertaining to the name of that spirit, his age at the 
time of his death, etc., the only condition required 
being, that the inquirer shall himself know what an- 
swers should be given, and, at the time, have those 
answers distinctly before his mind. That facts of this 
character have occurred, we have the most valid evi- 
dence, and any one can verify them, in his own experi- 
ence, who will take the pains to do it. In the same 
circumstances, and on the same condition, individuals 
can obtain, in some instances, to say the least, correct 
answers to purely mental questions. A gentleman of 



44 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

our acquaintance, for example, called upon the Misses 
Fish and the Foxes, when they were in Cleveland, 
Ohio, and to the supposed spirit of a departed sister, 
put mentally, and in succession, twelve questions, and 
to each received a perfectly correct answer, he know- 
ing, in each instance, what the answer should be, and 
having his attention, at the time, definitely fixed upon it. 
This, and cases of a similar kind, which might, without 
number, be adduced, establish the reality of the class 
of facts under consideration. The gentleman above 
referred to, however, wrote out these same questions 
upon twelve blank cards, and putting them together, the 
sides containing the questions from him, and having 
shuffled them so that he could not know what question 
he might put down, in any instance, put each one suc- 
cessively upon the table, the question downward, and 
requested the same spirit to give an answer to the 
question laid down, while he should write that answer 
upon the blank side. Twelve answers were, accord- 
ingly, obtained, but one of which was, in any form, cor- 
rect ; the answers, in most instances, having no relations 
whatever to the question put. Such facts, which are 
continually occurring in spirit circles the world over, 
throw, in the judgment of all reflecting minds, more 
than suspicion over the truth of the whole spirit theory. 
The spirit of that sister, or any other truthful, or even 
lying spirit, a lying spirit who did not wish to bring 
this theory into universal discredit, would never at- 
tempt to answer questions under such circumstances ; 
but would, at once, disavow ability to do it. There 
can be no doubt on this subject. Truthful spirits, we 
know certainly, would not give such responses ; and 
lying ones would not, upon any laws of mind known to 
us, unless they desired, a case not credible, to shut 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIKITS." 45 

themselves and all other spirits wholly out from all 
communication with minds in the body. 

As an example of facts coming under the class last 
named, we will state one which recently came to our 
knowledge, and for the occurrence of which we feel 
quite safe in vouching. A friend of ours who had been, 
since the summer of 1850, till September last, in Eu- 
rope, and who, on his return, left two daughters there, 
one in London, and the other in France, Calais, if we 
rightly remember, called, not long after his return, upon 
a venerable Quaker family, in the State of Rhode 
Island. As the conversation, during the evening, turned 
upon the merits of spiritualism, the lady of the house 
proposed to call in, which was done, a friend of hers who 
was a medium, but never acted as such for remunera- 
tion. This medium, our friend had never before seen, 
and the character of the family precluded the idea of 
any form of imposition. When the required prepara- 
tion was consummated, our friend inquired if any spirit 
was present who would communicate with him, and if 

so who ? Elizabeth B , was immediately rapped 

out. He had had a mother, sister, and wife, all now 
dead, of that same name. After specifying the two 
former, and receiving a negative answer, he was told 
that it was the spirit of the latter. To all questions 
pertaining to their family, such as names, ages, etc., 
correct answers were given. He then inquired about 
the present location of their daughters, and was told 
that each of them was in London. The eldest he sup- 
posed to be there, and the other in France. To every 
inquiry pertaining to the whereabouts of the latter, 
however, the answer was, London. The next steamer 
brought a letter from that daughter dated London, to 
which city she had come six days prior to the time 



46 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

when that professedly spirit communication was re- 
ceived. The unbelief of our friend in spiritualism was 
very strongly shaken. In a subsequent interview with 
that spirit, after receiving all the evidence of identity 
which he had ever done, he asked the question, Where did 
you die, and where was your body buried ? The reply 
was, Durham. After asking whether the place named 
was located in Ohio, Michigan, New York, or Massa- 
chusetts, and receiving to each inquiry a negative an- 
swer, the spirit was asked to name the State herself. 
Pennsylvania was rapped out. The wife of our friend 
died in Buffalo, N. Y., and her body was there interred. 
It is thus, that all reflecting minds who are inclined to 
place confidence in " the spirits," find their faith contin- 
ually running upon snags by which it is, in a short 
period, utterly submerged. We leave such facts, for 
the present, to speak for themselves. Then* full, and, 
as we hope, perfectly satisfactory explanation will be 
given hereafter. We might multiply authentic cases, 
in which correct statements are made relatively to facts 
unknown to all within the circles where such statements 
are given forth. One, however, when the reality of the 
facts is admitted, and all agree, in regard to the class to 
which they belong, is sufficient. That we may not be 
misunderstood, in our admissions, we would remark, 
that while we admit the actual occurrence of the class 
of facts last named, we also believe, from the best infor- 
mation which we have been able to obtain, that to inqui- 
ries pertaining to such subjects, excepting in cases 
where only a positive or negative answer is required, 
and one must be true, hardly one answer in a hun- 
dred is correct. We have a friend in Europe, for ex- 
ample ; we ask the question of " the spirits," Is he dead 
or alive? Here we are, at any rate, as likely to obtain 



THE MISSION OP " THE SPIRITS." 47 

a right as wrong answer. But suppose we ask, is he 
alive, and if so, where he is, and what is he now em- 
ployed about ? we having no means of forming even a 
probable conjecture of what is true on such subjects. 
In such cases correct answers are not, in our judgment, 
obtained in one case in a hundred, if in a thousand. 
Yet a sufficient number of such cases do occur to con- 
stitute the class above named, cases which need to be 
accounted for. We would further remark, that accord- 
ing to the best information that we have been able to 
obtain, incorrect answers are continuously, as in the 
case cited above, given forth to inquiries pertaining to 
subjects fully known both to the inquirers and the spir- 
its professedly communicating, answers of such a char- 
acter as to destroy all rational confidence in the claims 
of spiritualism. 

ISSUE STATED. 

Such, as we understand the subject, are the facts be- 
fore us, and such are the principles which should guide 
us in their investigation. To sustain the claims of 
spiritualism, it must be shown, that similar and analogous 
facts are produced by no mundane causes ivhatever, on the 
one hand, and that they can be produced by no other agen- 
cies than disembodied spirits, on the other. In opposition 
to the claims of this new system, we propose to show : 

1. That from known mundane causes, precisely sim- 
ilar and analogous facts do arise. 

2. That these so called spirit manifestations actu- 
ally occur, in circumstances in which such causes are 
known to exist and to act, and that by a reference to 
such causes, all these manifestations can be accounted 
for. 



48 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

3. That from such causes, and not from the agency 
of disembodied spirits, these manifestations do proceed. 
When we shall have proved the first two propositions, 
we shall have totally annihilated the claims of spiritual- 
ism, and when we shall have established the third, we 
shall have proved that theory false. We shall attempt 
the accomplishment of both these objects. We will 
take up the first two propositions together, and having 
established their truth, will then proceed to argue the 
last. 

FIKST TWO PROPOSITIONS ESTABLISHED. 

Spiritualists, as well as their opponents, admit, that 
if spirits do produce these manifestations, they do it by 
controlling a certain force preexisting in nature. No 
one supposes that they make rapping sounds, guide the 
hands or tongues of mediums, or move tables, by them- 
selves striking against physical objects, taking hold of 
the hands or tongues of mediums, or of tables and other 
objects, and thus controlling their motions. All is done 
through the medium, or instrumentality of some natural 
force or power. To proceed intelligently in our investi- 
gations, we must, first of all, determine the properties 
and laws of this mysterious power in nature. 



SECTION I. 

ELECTRICITY, MAGNETISM, AND ANIMAL MAGNETISM DISTIN- 
GUISHED 

In accomplishing the object immediately before us, we 
would remark, that philosophers have unitedly affirmed, 
and the public generally are now iuliy aware of the truth 
of that affirmation, the existence and action of the three 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 49 

following distinct powers or forces in nature, namely, 
Electricity, Magnetism, and Animal Magnetism. While 
they all have many characteristics in common, each is 
distinguished from the others by properties altogether 
special and peculiar. They all have in common polarity, 
and with it the power of strongly attracting and repel- 
ling certain bodies. The points of agreement and dis- 
tinction between electricity and magnetism are thus set 
forth by Prof. Olmsted : " Electricity and magnetism 
agree in the following particulars. 1. Each consists of 
two species, the vitreous and resinous electricities, and 
the austral and boreal magnetisms. 2. In both cases, 
those of the same name repel, and those of opposite 
names attract each other. 3. The laws of induction in 
both are very analogous. 4. The force, in each, varies 
inversely as the square of the distance. 5. The power, 
in both cases, resides at the surface of bodies, and is 
independent of their mass. 

" But electricity and magnetism are as remarkably un- 
like in the following particulars. 1. Electricity is capa- 
ble of being excited in all bodies, and of being imparted 
to all : magnetism resides almost exclusively in iron in 
its different forms, and with a few exceptions, cannot be 
excited in any but ferruginous bodies. 2. Electricity 
may be transferred from one body to another ; magnet- 
ism is incapable of such transference ; magnets commu- 
nicate their properties merely by induction, a process in 
which no portion of fluid is withdrawn from the mag- 
netizing body. 3. When a body of an elongated figure 
is electrified by induction, on being divided in the mid- 
die, the two parts possess respectively the kind of elec- 
tricity only which each had before the separation ; but 
when a bar of steel or a needle magnetized by induction 
is broken into any number of parts, each part has both 

5 



50 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

polarities, and becomes a perfect magnet. 4. The di- 
rective properties and the various consequences that 
result from it, the declination, annual and diurnal varia- 
tions, the dip, the different intensities in different parts 
of the earth, are all peculiar to the magnet, and do not 
appertain to electrified bodies." 

Animal magnetism has, in common with the two 
forces above named, as we have said, polarity, and con- 
sequently the property of attraction and repulsion. 
This statement is verified by an experiment with which 
all who have seen persons in a magnetic or mesmeric 
sleep are familiar. When the ends of the fingers of the 
magnetizer, for example, are brought near those of the 
magnetized, the latter being perfectly blindfolded, so as 
not at all to be aware of what is being done, the hand 
of the person magnetized will instantly be attracted to- 
wards that of the magnetizer, and will follow it in any 
direction, just as the loadstone, and evidently for the 
same reason, draws after itself the needle, or any object 
in respect to which it has attractive power. Here stands 
revealed the polarity, and consequently the attractive 
force of this mysterious power in nature. Its essential 
dissimilarity from electricity, is equally manifest in the 
fact, that living' bodies can be charged with the former 
in circumstances in which they cannot be with the latter, 
that is, in the presence of electric conductors. The 
human body, for example, can be charged with the elec- 
tric fluid, only by being placed upon glass, or some other 
non-conductor. In direct and immediate contact with 
such non-conductors, the same body may be most fully 
charged with animal magnetism. From magnetism it 
is distinguished with equal manifestness, by the fact, 
that it may be excited, in all its force, in animal bodies, 
while the former is developed, in force, only in iron and 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 51 

kindred substances. We might refer to other character- 
istics, in which this substance, or force in nature, is dis- 
tinguished from electricity on the one hand, and from 
magnetism on the other. The above, however, are suffi- 
cient for our present purpose. It remains to specify 
some of the peculiar characteristics of this power, as de- 
veloped in animal bodies, the human body, we now 
refer to. Among these we would specify the following 
to which very special attention is invited, as they will 
hereafter be seen to have a fundamental bearing upon 
our present inquiries. 

EFFECTS OF ANIMAL MAGNETISM UPON THE HUMAN SYSTEM. 

1. It operates with immense power upon the muscu- 
lar system, imparting to the limbs a rigidity and inflex- 
ibility which render any motion at the joints almost as 
impossible as at any other parts. We will give a single 
fact in illustration, a fact which occurred some years 
since in the city of Cleveland. The subject was a 
young woman who labored as a domestic in the family 
where the fact occurred. After putting the individual 
into a magnetic sleep, and while she was sitting in a 
chair, the magnetizer extended her right arm in a hori- 
zontal direction, and having made a few passes of his 
hand from the shoulder to the hand of the subject, he 
requested the pastor of the First Presbyterian Church of 
that city, who was present by invitation, to bring that arm 
down from the position referred to. Taking hold of the 
hand and wrist of the subject, and pressing downwards 
with much weight, he expressed the fear that he should 
break the arm, should he add to the pressure. On be- 
ing assured by the magnetizer, that he had no reason 
for apprehension on that subject, Dr. Aikin affirms, 



52 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

that he laid out all the strength he could command, 
without being able to move the limb downward. It 
seemed to possess the inflexibility of a rod of steel. 
The above fact comes from a source which will com- 
mand universal belief, and is but one among number- 
less others of a similar nature that might be cited. 
With what astonishing power must this force act upon 
the muscular system to produce such results ! 

2. Such also is the effect of this substance, or force, 
upon the physical system generally, that the mind is 
thereby, in many instances, wholly insulated from any 
communication with the external world, through any of 
the senses, and, in instances not a few, rendered equally 
insensible to any effects produced upon the physical 
organization itself. A limb may be amputated, for ex- 
ample, and the subject experience no pain, nor any con- 
scious sensation whatever, from the operation. The 
senses also are all locked up from any communications 
with the world around but through those with whom, 
and in respect to objects with which, they are in mes- 
meric communication. Facts falling under this class 
are too well authenticated to be denied, and too well 
known to need illustration, or explanation by the cita- 
tion of particular examples. 

3. In some instances, under the influence of this same 
substance, the perceptive faculties are greatly quickened, 
so that the mind perceives objects which lie wholly 
beyond, and at a great remove from, the reach of the or- 
dinary senses, when the mental and physical powers are 
in a normal state. That perceptions of this character 
are to be numbered among real facts of clairvoyance, 
there can rest upon no candid mind, which has made 
adequate investigations, any doubt whatever. " How- 
ever astonishing," says Sir W. Hamilton, " it is now 



THE MISSION" OF "THE SPIRITS." 53 

proved beyond all rational doubt, that in certain abnormal 
states of the nervous organism, perceptions are passible 
through other than the ordinary channels of the senses." 
"It has been, I believe," says Dr. Wayland, "proved 
beyond dispute, that persons under this influence have 
submitted to the most distressing operations without 
consciousness of pain ; that other persons have cognized 
events at a great distance, and have related them cor- 
rectly at the time ; and that persons totally blind, when 
in a state of mesmeric consciousness, have enjoyed for 
the time the power of perceiving external objects." As 
we wish to have very special attention directed to this 
class of facts, on account of their bearings upon our 
subsequent inquiries, we will confirm the truth of the 
above statement of Dr. Wayland, by the following ex- 
tract from a letter addressed to him by J. M. Brook, Esq. 
of the United States Navy, and contained in the work 
from which the above is taken, namely, " Wayland's In- 
tellectual Philosophy." 

Washington, Oct. 27, 1851. 
" Sir, — It affords me pleasure to comply with your 
request, made through my brother William., relative to 
some experiments performed on board the United States 
steamer Princeton, in the latter part of the year 1847 ; 
she being then on a cruise in the Mediterranean. 
Nathaniel Bishop, the subject of the experiments, was a 
mulatto, about twenty-six years of age, in good health, 
but of an excitable disposition. The first experiment 
was of the magnetic or mesmeric sleep, which over- 
powered him in thirty minutes from the commencement 
of the passes made in the ordinary way, accompanied 
with a steadfast gaze and effort of will that he should 
sleep. 

5* 



54 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

In this state he was insensible to all voices but mine, 
unless I directed or willed him to hear others ; he was 
also insensible to such amount of pain as one might 
inflict without injury, that is, what would have been 
pain to another. He would obey my directions to 
whistle, dance, or sing. When aroused from this sleep 
he had no recollection of what occurred while in it. 
That such an influence could be exerted, I was already 
aware, having previously witnessed satisfactory experi- 
ments. Of clairvoyance I had never been convinced ; 
indeed, considered it nothing but a sort of dreaming 
produced by the will of the operator. I became aware 
of its truth rather through accident than design. 

" It happened, one day, that some of my brother 
officers asked a question which the others could not 
answer. Bishop, who had been a few moments before 
in a mesmeric sleep, gave the desired information, 
speaking with confidence and apparent accuracy. As 
the information related to something which it seemed 
almost impossible to know without seeing, we were 
very much surprised. It struck me that he might be 
clairvoyant ; and I at once asked him to tell me the 
time by a watch kept in the binnacle, on the spar or 
upper deck, we being on the berth or lower deck. He 
answered correctly, as I found upon looking at the 
watch, allowing eight or nine seconds for time occupied 
in getting on deck. I then asked him many questions 
with regard to objects at a distance, which he answered, 
and, as far as I could ascertain, correctly. 

" For example, one evening, while at anchor in the 
port of Genoa, the captain was on shore. I asked 
Bishop, in the presence of several officers, where the 
captain then was. He replied, ' At the opera with Mr. 
Lester, the consul.' ' What does he say ? '.. I inquired. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 55 

Bishop appeared to listen, and in a moment replied, 
' The captain tells Mr. Lester, that he was much 
pleased with the port of Xavia; that the authorities 
treated him with much consideration.' Upon this, one 
of the officers laughed, and said that when the captain 
returned he would ask him. He did so ; saying, ' Cap- 
tain, we have been listening to your conversation while 
on shore.' ' Very well,' remarked the captain, ' What 
did I say?' expecting some jest. Then the ( licer 
repeated what the captain had said of Xavia and its 
authorities. ' Ah,' said the captain, ' who was at the 
opera ? I did not see any of the officers there.' The 
lieutenant then explained the matter. The captain con- 
firmed its truth, and seemed much surprised, as there 
had been no other communication with the shore dur- 
ing the evening. I may remark that we touched at 
several ports between Xavia and Genoa. 

" On another occasion, an officer being on shore, I 
directed Bishop to examine his pockets ; he made sev- 
eral motions with his hands, as if actually drawing 
something from the officer's pockets, saying, ' Here is a 
handkerchief and a box; what a curious thing! full of 
little white sticks with blue ends. What are they, Mr. 
Brooks ? ' I replied, ' Perhaps they are matches.' ' So 
they are ! ' he exclaimed. My companion, expecting 
the officer mentioned, went on deck, and meeting him 
at the gangway, asked, ' What have you in your 
pockets ? ' ' Nothing,' he replied. ' But have you not 
a box of matches ? ' ' Oh ! yes ! ' said he, ' How did 
you know it ? I bought them just before I came on 
board. The matches are peculiar, made of white wax 
with blue ends.' 

" The surgeons of the Princeton ridiculed these experi- 
ments, upon which I requested one of them (Farquhar- 



56 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

son), to test for himself, which he consented to do. 
With some care he placed Bishop and myself in one 
corner of the apartment, and then took a position some 
ten feet distant, concealing between his hands a watch, 
the long hand of which traversed the dial. He first 
asked for a description of the watch. To which 
Bishop replied, "Tis a funny watch, the second hand 
jumps.' 

" The doctor then asked him to tell the minute and 
second, which he did; directly afterwards exclaiming, 
' The second hand has stopped ! ' which was the case ; 
Dr. Farquharson having stopped it. ' Well,' said the 
doctor, ' to what second does it point, and to what 
hour, and what minute is it now ? ' Bishop answered 
correctly, adding, ' 'T is going again.' He then told 
twice in succession the minute and second. 

" The doctor was convinced, saying, that it was con- 
trary to reason, but he must believe. I then proposed 
that the doctor should mark; and directed Bishop to 
look in his mother's house, in Lancaster, Pa., (where he 
had never been,) for a clock ; he said there was one, 
and told the time by it ; one of the officers calculated 
the difference in time for the longitudes of Lancaster 
and Genoa, and the clock was found to agree within 
five minutes of the watch time." 

4. The relations existing between the magnetized, 
when in the magnetic state, and the magnetizer or 
other persons in mesmeric communication with the per- 
son magnetized, next claims our special attention. 
Among these relations the following may be specified 
as having a special bearing upon our present investiga- 
tions. (1.) Any sensations induced by any cause in the 
magnetizer are instantly reproduced in the individual 
magnetized, and that when it is impossible to induce 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 57 

any such feelings by any effects directly produced upon 
the physical organization of the latter. If the magneti- 
zer tastes, smells, or touches any particular object, the 
person magnetized instantly experiences the same sen- 
sations. Any sensations unexpectedly induced in the 
former, by secretly twitching his hair, pinching his body, 
or pricking it with a needle or pin, and when this is 
done in a manner and form which preclude the possi- 
bility of any knowledge of what is done, on the part of 
the latter, any sensations, we say, even thus induced in 
the magnetizer, will be instantly reproduced in the 
person magnetized, each individual, in almost all in- 
stances being affected in the same part of the physical 
system. A gentleman of our acquaintance, to remove 
all doubt from his own mind in regard to the question of 
collusion, called a magnetizer aside, and while speaking 
to him, put a vial of hartshorn to his nose, the vial hav- 
ing just before been sent for from a distance : " Do take 
that from my nose," instantly exclaimed the subject 
who was in a magnetic state. The world is full of 
facts of a precisely similar nature wherever the mes- 
meric phenomena have been witnessed. 

The law which obtains in these circumstances seems 
to be this. This mysterious power acts with such force 
upon the sensitivity of the individual under its influ- 
ence, (the person magnetized,) that it can, for the time, 
be affected but through this one, power. Any feeling or 
sensation induced in the magnetizer acts upon this 
power, and through it upon the sensitivity of the person 
magnetized, reproducing there the same feelings which 
had previously been induced in the magnetizer. 

(2.) In a similar manner, the thoughts of the magneti- 
zer are reproduced in the mind of the individual mag- 
netized, especially when the former wills it. This holds 



58 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

true not only in regard to common conceptions, but 
equally of all acts of the imagination. A very intelli- 
gent and pious lady, a member of the Baptist church in 
Poughkeepsie, N. Y., while upon her death-bed, made 
the following statement to her pastor, from whom w r e 
received the same. When you come to investigate the 
facts of mesmerism, she remarked, you will find this to 
be true, that the clairvoyant when in mesmeric com- 
munication with you, can speak your thoughts. I was 
once present when A. J. Davis, then a lad, was in this 
state, and was requested to touch his forehead with my 
own. I did so, and found that he would instantly 
speak out any thought that came into my mind. A 
scientific gentleman from the interior of New England, 
while in the city of New York, some years ago, called 
upon, and was put into mesmeric communication with 
a clairvoyant whom he had never seen before. The lat- 
ter mentally accompanied the former to his (the inquir- 
er's) father's residence, describing the facts of the jour- 
ney, the external and internal appearance of the house 
and the surrounding scenery just in accordance with his 
recollections and conceptions at the time. He then im- 
agined a meeting-house standing before the front door of 
that residence, (no such object existing,) and asked the 
clairvoyant, " what do you see now ? " "A meeting- 
house," was the answer. The object was then described 
in exact accordance with the image preexisting in the 
inquirer's mind, both in regard to location, form, size, 
color, etc. The fact of the transfer of thought in the 
mesmeric relations is too well known and undeniable 
to require any further confirmation or elucidation. 

Many curious inquiries are often raised pertaining to 
the question, How are such effects produced? On this 
subject we will venture the expression of an opinion. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 59 

How is it, that by vocal utterance we reproduce our own 
thoughts in the minds of others ? The action of our 
vocal organs induces a vibratory motion of the atmos- 
phere, the ultimate result of which (not to specify par- 
ticulars) is the production, in the mind, of the hearer, of 
certain sensations with which those thoughts are asso- 
ciated. Through those sensations, thus induced, the 
thoughts referred to are reproduced in the mind of the 
hearer. Suppose that when a thought exists in the 
mind of the magnetizer, the feelings thereby induced in 
him act upon this force so as to induce, in the magnet- 
ized subject, the same or similar feelings or sensations 
that would be induced by the vocal utterance of that 
thought, when each was mentally and physically in a 
normal condition. That thought would be reproduced 
in one instance for the same reason precisely, and upon 
the same principle, that it is in the other, there being a 
difference merely in regard to the immediate cause of 
the sensation with which the idea is associated. This 
we believe to be the real relation between the individu- 
als under consideration, and this the reason why the 
thoughts of the one are reproduced in the mind of the 
other. We have already shown that sensations are re- 
produced upon this one principle. Why should we not 
conclude, that upon the same principle thoughts are 
reproduced ? The fact of the transfer of thought in the 
mesmeric relation will not be doubted, however, what- 
ever may be thought of the above explanation. 

(3.) A control equally perfect can the magnetizer ex- 
ercise over the muscular system of the individual in a 
magnetic state. By simply willing it, with no external 
motions whatever, the latter can render the whole body, 
or any given member of the same perfectly stiff and 
motionless, and hold it in any given position for any 



60 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

given length of time. This power often continues for a 
period subsequent to the time when the subject has come 
out of a mesmeric state. Take as an illustration and 
confirmation of this statement, the following additional 
extract from the letter of J. M. Brooke, Esq. : " The 
power which I acquired by putting him to sleep re- 
mained after he woke, and was increased by its exercise. 
If not exerted for several days, it decreased, sometimes 
rendering it necessary to repeat the passes, and again 
put him to sleep. While awake, and under my influ- 
ence, I made many experiments, such as arresting his 
arm when raising food to his mouth, or fixing him mo- 
tionless in the attitude of drinking. On one occasion I 
willed that he should continue pouring tea into a cup 
already filled, which he did, notwithstanding the excla- 
mations of those who were scalded in the operation. 
These influences were exerted without a word, or 
change of position on my part." 

(4.) Hence I remark, in the last place, that the entire 
mental and physical activity of the magnetized, is, in 
many instances, under the complete control of the mag- 
netizer, while the mesmeric relation between them con- 
tinues, a relation which, as we have seen, often contin- 
ues for a period longer or shorter, after the subject has 
come out of a mesmeric sleep. The wildest imaginings 
of the latter are thus reproduced in the mind of the for- 
mer, the objects of those imaginings appearing as ob- 
jects of real external perception. The magnetizer puts 
his handkerchief, for example, into the hands of his 
magnetic subject, and it becomes, to that subject, a 
flower of surpassing beauty, a kitten, lap-dog, an infant, 
or a serpent, just as the magnetizer secretly wills. Mr. 
Brook says still further of his subject: " He remembered 
or forgot what he saw when clairvoyant, as I willed, of 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 61 

which I satisfied myself by experiment. All his senses 
were under control, so completely indeed, that had I 
willed him to stop breathing I believe that he would." 
A magnetizer agreed with a friend of ours, a gentleman 
of the most unquestionable veracity, to induce his mag- 
netic subject to sing, she being a beautiful singer, and 
to stop the singing the instant our friend should raise 
his finger. As the singing proceeded, and while the 
singer was uttering a long note, our friend raised his 
finger, and the voice instantly ceased, with that note half 
finished. The magnetizer willed the singing to proceed 
again, and that note, a thing impossible to a person in 
a normal condition, was finished, and with it the re- 
mainder of the stanza. This was done, while the sub- 
ject was deeply blindfolded, and the magnetizer stood 
several feet from her, with his eyes fixed intently upon 
our friend, waiting for the raising of his finger. No 
collusion therefore was possible. The following facts we 
adduce, with leave, on the authority of Mr. Covert, for- 
merly president of Central College, Ohio, and now of the 
Female College on College Hill, near Cincinnati. The 
facts occurred in Columbus, in the presence of a select 
company of witnesses. After fully satisfying himself, 
by experiments about which there could be no mistake, 
that any sensations induced in the magnetizer were in- 
stantly reproduced in the magnetic subject, the latter 
uniformly experiencing the corresponding sensation in 
the very part of the body in which it was induced in 
the former, and after witnessing wonderful exhibitions 
of the absolute control which the magnetizer had, at 
will, over the magnetized individual, President Covert 
called the former into a separate room, the door being 
closed between them and the subject of the magnetic 
influence, and requested him, in a tone of voice that 

6 



62 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

could be heard by no one but themselves, to will that 
his subject should leave her seat, come into the room 
where they were, and seat herself in a particular chair 
which was designated, many others being in the room at 
the time. The magnetizer did as directed, and that with- 
out moving at all any part of his body. Immediately 
the magnetic subject opened the door, entered the room, 
and passing to the other side of it, sat down in the very 
chair referred to, her eyes all the while being perfectly 
closed, and the magnetizer, wi- repeat, giving not the 
least indication by word, look, or gesture, of what he 
willed her to do. He then, at President Covert's subse- 
quent request, so uttered that none but the individual 
spoken to could have heard, willed her to leave that seat, 
and seating herself at the piano, entertain them with 
music and singing. This she did accordingly. Thus 
it is, that the magnetizer, at will, completely controls 
the mental and physical activity of his magnetic sub- 
ject. Facts of the most authentic character, and bear- 
ing with equal force upon the same conclusion, might 
be multiplied to any extent. These, however, are abun- 
dantly sufficient. From all the facts above adduced, 
pertaining to the action of this mysterious power in 
nature, the following conclusions are undeniable : — 

1. There is in nature a medium of communication 
between mind and mind, other than that by which com- 
munications are had, through the ordinary channels of 
the senses. 

2. Through this same force, one mind may, when the 
proper conditions are fulfilled, control the action of the 
mental and physical powers of another mind. 

3. The action of this force upon the physical system, 
and through it upon the mind of the magnetized, is as 
the feelings, thoughts, and purposes of the magnetizer. 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 63 

4. Through this same power, the mind of the person 
magnetized, when he happens to be in mesmeric com- 
munication (rapport) with any object however distant, 
and however removed from the reach of the senses, will 
have a direct and immediate cognition of the same. 

5. The action of this force, when certain conditions 
are fulfilled, is determined, in many important particu- 
lars, by mental states and acts, and accords with the 
same, and here its nature and relations to mind stand 
revealed, a fact of fundamental importance, but which 
seems not hitherto, to have been distinctly and gener- 
ally recognized by philosophers. Mesmeric facts have 
demonstrated the existence of this power in nature, and 
thereby laid the foundation for the explanation of many 
facts around us which have, to this time, appeared to be 
totally inexplicable. 



SECTION H. 

THE ODYLIC FORCE. 

To prepare the way still further for the full and dis- 
tinct elucidation of the subject before us, we will now 
advance to a consideration of a peculiar force in nature, 
a force the existence, properties, and laws of which phi- 
losophers had developed and verified, by the most careful 
and decisive experiments, years prior to the appearance 
of these so called spirit manifestations, and which they 
had denominated the Odylic Force. This force, which 
indeed pervades all bodies in nature, has many proper- 
ties in common with electricity and magnetism, polarity, 
and with it, the property of attracting and repelling other 
bodies, for example. At the same time, it differs from 
these forces in particulars equally fundamental, being, 



64 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

for example, undeniably transmissible through magnetic 
and electric non-conductors. The physical organisms 
of individuals of peculiar physical temperaments, be- 
come, in some instances, in certain localities, perma- 
nently and very strongly charged with this force. The 
following may be enumerated, as among the more im- 
portant phenomena which characterize its developments 
under such circumstances. 

1. It acts upon other objects, and is reacted upon by 
them, as a very strong attractive and repulsive power; 
objects, in many instances, even without visible con- 
tact, being drawn towards or driven from such individ- 
uals, and in other particulars acted upon in a very sin- 
gular and unaccountable manner. 

2. Upon the walls, floor, and ceiling of rooms occu- 
pied by such individuals, rapping sounds, very much 
like those produced by striking against such objects 
with the knuckles, or with a mallet, are not unfrequently 
heard ; such phenomena being also occasionally attended 
with a sensible jarring of surrounding objects, and some- 
times with rumbling sounds, resembling the roaring of 
distant thunder. 

3. The physical systems of such individuals are very 
powerfully affected, so powerfully as, in many instances, 
to derange totally the action of the mental powers. 

4. In the mental developments thus induced, we have, 
without exception, all the mesmeric and clairvoyant 
phenomena, as above presented. 

5. This force, when developed in the human organ- 
ism, has generally a special location in some of the 
nerve centres. When such centre is not immediately 
connected with the brain, then the action of this force, 
like that of magnetism, is simply that of a repulsive and 
attractive power, without the characteristics of intelli- 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 65 

gence. When that centre is the brain, then the direction 
of the action of this power bears, in many important 
particulars, the characteristics of intelligence, the action 
of the force, in such cases, being not only in accordance 
with, but evidently directed by, mental states. 

In illustration of the above statements, and in verifi- 
cation of the same, we will now present a few well 
authenticated facts. We cite only such facts as have a 
direct and immediate bearing upon our present inquiries. 
Those who would understand the science of the Odylic 
Force, are referred to the fundamental works upon the 
subject which are now before the public. 

With facts which really and truly indicate the exist- 
ence and action of such a force in nature, so far espec- 
ially as its attractive and repulsive properties are con- 
cerned, almost every one is, no doubt, familiar, though 
these facts, as generally witnessed, having nothing of a 
startling character about them, have, for the most part, 
escaped any special notice. Who has not witnessed, 
for example, in passing his hand over the head of 
another, the evidence of an attraction between the hand 
and the hair upon the head of such individual, an at- 
traction sufficient to disarrange the hair, and cause the 
ends of it to rise from the head ? Such facts clearly in- 
dicate the existence of the attractive force of which we 
are speaking. Some months since, as we called upon 
an aged clergyman who was just recovering from sick- 
ness, he related to us a somewhat interesting fact which 
had just occurred in his own experience. While en- 
gaged, a day or two previous, in adjusting some papers 
for the purpose of putting them on file, on withdrawing 
his hand from the paper which he had placed upon the 
top of others, that object followed his hand, being evi- 
dently attracted by it. After repeated attempts, he 



66 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

found it impossible to adjust that paper, because it 
would follow his hand when he would withdraw it. 
His attention being thus attracted, he was led to make 
some special experiments. On placing the ends of his 
fingers upon the paper, and raising them up, the object 
adhered to them, and remained, for some time, sus- 
pended, just as a needle and other objects are raised 
and suspended by the magnet. On trial, he found that 
no such attraction existed, at the time, between his 
hand and any other paper before him for the obvious 
reason, that this attractive force, the presence of which 
is here undeniably evinced, was not thus relatively de- 
veloped between his hand and any other paper, as be- 
tween it and this one. We have only to suppose this 
same force developed between the organism of this in- 
dividual and some heavy object, such as the table, and 
developed to a certain degree of strength and intensity, 
and for the same reason that this paper was attracted 
by his hand so as to be raised from .the table, the table 
itself would be drawn after him all around the room, or 
thus driven from him, if the polarity of this force, as 
developed in his organism and the object were different 
or opposite from what we have supposed it to be. The 
table itself, also, attracted by the hand of the individual 
just as the paper referred to was, might, like that object, 
be lifted from the floor and for the same reason. Suppose 
further, that this force should happen to be developed 
at the same time, and in the same form, in the table 
and the floor beneath it. In that case, on the known 
principle, that, with all forces having polarity, opposite 
poles attract, while the same ones repel each other, the 
table would be spontaneously lifted from the floor, and, 
for a time, held, as by an invisible power, suspended in 
the atmosphere. If the same force was developed at the 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 67 

time, in some object near, but with opposite polarity, 
then the table would be drawn towards such object, 
whirled over and thrown, it might be, with much violence 
upon the floor. Thus alternately attracted by some 
objects, and repelled by others, it would now be driven 
forcibly against some individuals, and fly from others 
with seeming terror, and tumbled strangely about the 
room, till all present were convinced that it must be 
bewitched, while all these terrifying phenomena are the 
exclusive result of the natural and necessary action of a 
peculiar force existing in nature all around us, a force 
which, like electricity in a thunderstorm, happens, at 
this time, to be developed with special power, in this 
particular locality, and in connection with the objects 
referred to, and when these now strange and unaccount- 
able phenomena lose all their power to astonish and 
to terrify, as soon as the existence and properties of the 
force from which they result come to be recognized and 
understood. 

A lady attempts to spread out upon a table a silk 
dress, for the purpose of ironing it. The article adheres 
to her hand, winding all around it, so that she finds it 
very difficult or impossible to adjust the article so as to 
accomplish her object. We state a case which actually 
occurred in our own family, some months since. Another 
individual adjusts the same article without any difficul- 
ty, no such attraction appearing between her hands and 
the object referred to. In the case of the first individual, 
this force happened to be, at the time, developed in such 
relations between her hands and the object, the dress, 
as to occasion the singular phenomena under considera- 
tion. Such facts which are of almost every-day occur- 
rence in the world around us, render manifest the exist- 
ence, in the human organism, and in external nature, of 



68 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the force of which we are speaking, and when wisely con- 
sidered, prepare us to look with scientific scrutiny, and 
with less wonder, incredulity, and scepticism upon au- 
thentic cases in which this same power is developed in 
the organism of individuals to such a degree, as produce 
the phenomena which astonish mankind. To a few of 
these cases, all of which, we believe, have all the marks 
of credibility that we can, with any show of reason, de- 
mand, very special attention is now invited. 

The first case that we adduce is that of Angelique 
Cottin, of which we have two well authenticated ac- 
counts, one of which is given by Catharine Crowe, in 
the " Night-side of Nature," and the other in the " Cou- 
rier des Etats Unis," of Paris. Both of these accounts 
are combined in the following extract from " Roger's 
Philosophy of Mysterious Rappings," to which we are 
indebted for other important facts hereafter to be cited. 

" Angelique Cottin was a native of La Perriere, aged 
fourteen, when, on the 15th of January, 1846, at eight 
o'clock in the evening, while weaving silk gloves at an 
oaken frame, in company with other girls, the frame 
began to jerk, and they could not by any efforts keep it 
steady. It seemed as if it were alive ; and, becoming 
alarmed, they called in the neighbors, who would not 
believe them, but desired them to sit down and go on 
with their work. Being timid, they went one by one, 
and the frame remained still till Angelique approached, 
when it recommenced its movements, while she was 
also attracted by the frame ; thinking she was bewitched 
or possessed, her parents took her to the presbytery, that 
the spirit might be exorcised. The curate, however, 
being a sensible man, refused to do it, but set himself, 
on the contrary, to observe the phenomenon ; and, being 
perfectly satisfied of the fact, he bade them take her to 
a physician. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 69 

" Meanwhile, the intensity of the influence, whatever 
it was, augmented ; not only articles made of oak, but 
all sorts of things, were acted upon by it, and reacted 
upon her ; while persons who were' near her, even with- 
out contact, frequently felt electric (?) shocks. The 
effects, which were diminished when she was on a car- 
pet or a waxed cloth, were most remarkable when she 
was on the bare earth. They sometimes entirely ceased 
for three days, and then recommenced. Metals were 
not affected. Any thing touching her apron or dress 
would fly off, although a person held it ; and Monsieur 
Herbert, while seated on a heavy tub or trough, was 
raised up with it. In short, the only place she could 
repose on was a stone covered with cork ; they also 
kept her still by isolating her. When she was fatigued, 
the effects diminished. A needle, suspended horizon- 
tally, oscillated rapidly with the motion of her arm, 
without contact; or remained fixed while deviating 
from the magnetic direction. Great numbers of en- 
lightened medical and scientific men witnessed these 
phenomena, and investigated them with every precau- 
tion to prevent imposition. She was often hurt by the 
violent involuntary movements she was thrown into, 
and was evidently afflicted by chorea," * or St. Vitus' 
dance. 

The French paper mentions the circumstance that, 
while Angelique was at work in the factory, " the cylin- 
der which was turning was suddenly thrown at a consid- 
erable distance without any visible cause ; that this was 
repeated several times ; that all the young girls in the 
factory, terrified, fled from the factory, ran to the curate 
to have him exorcise the young girl, believing she had a 
devil." After the priest had consigned her to the physi- 

* See Night-side of Nature, p. 380. 



70 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

cian's care, the Courier des Etats Unis goes on to say ; 
" The physician, with the father and mother, brought 
Angelique to Paris. M. Arago received her, and took 
her to the observatory, and in the presence of MM. Lau- 
gier and Goujon made the following observations, which 
were reported to the Paris Academy of Sciences. 

" 1. It is the left side of the body which appears to 
acquire this sometimes attractive, but more frequently 
repulsive property. A sheet of paper, a pen, or any 
other light body, being placed upon a table, if the young 
girl approaches her left hand, even before she touches it, 
the object is driven to a distance, as by a gust of wind. 
The table itself is thrown the moment it is touched by 
her hand, or even by a thread which she may hold in it. 

" 2. This causes instantaneously a strong commotion 
in her side, which draws her toward the table ; but it is 
in the region of the pelvis that this singular repulsive 
force appears to concentrate itself. 

" 3. As had been observed the first day, if she at- 
tempted to sit, the seat was thrown far from her, with 
such force that any person occupying it was carried 
away with it. 

"4. One day a chest, upon which three men were 
seated, was moved in the same manner. Another day, 
although the chair was held by two very strong men, it 
was broken between their hands. 

" 5. These phenomena are not produced in a con- 
tinued manner. They manifest themselves in a greater 
or less degree, and from time to time during the day ; 
but they show themselves in their intensity in the even- 
ing, from seven to nine o'clock. 

" 6. Then the girl is obliged to continue standing, and 
is in great agitation. 

" 7. She can touch no object without breaking it or 
throwing it upon the ground. 



THE MISSION OF u THE SPIRITS." 71 

" 8. All the articles of furniture which her garments 
touch are displaced and overthrown. 

" 9. At that moment many persons have felt, by com- 
ing in contact with her, a true electrical shock. 

" 10. During the entire duration of the paroxysms, the 
left side of the body is warmer than the right side. 

" 11. It is affected by jerks, unusual movements, and 
a kind of trembling, which seems to communicate itself 
to the hand which touches it. 

" 12. This young person presents, moreover, a pecu- 
liar sensibility to the action of the magnet. 

" When she approaches the north pole of the magnet 
she feels a violent shock, while the south pole produces 
no effect ; so that if the experimenter changes the poles, 
but without her knowledge, she always discovers it by 
the difference of sensations which she experiences. 

" 13. M. Arago wished to see if the approach of this 
young girl would cause a deviation of the needle of the 
compass. The deviation which had been foretold was 
not produced. The general health of Angelique Cottin 
is very good. The extraordinary movements, however, 
and the paroxysms observed every evening, resemble 
what one observes in some nervous maladies. 

" The great fact demonstrated in this case, is, 

" That, under peculiar conditions, the human organism 
gives forth a physical power which, without visible in- 
struments, lifts heavy bodies, attracts or repels them, 
according to a law of polarity, — overturns them, and 
produces the phenomena of sound." 

For the following quite striking case, we are indebted 
to the Spiritual Telegraph, of New York city, a case 
which is given in that paper from another paper pub- 
lished in that city, and dated March 10, 1789. 

" Sir : — Were I to relate the many extraordinary, 



72 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

though not less true accounts I have heard concerning 
that unfortunate girl at New Hackensack, your belief 
might, perhaps, be staggered, and patience tired. I 
shall, therefore, only inform you what I have been eye- 
witness to. Last Sunday afternoon my wife and my- 
self went to Dr. Thorn's, and, after sitting for some time, 
we heard a knocking under the feet of a young woman 
that lives in the family. I asked the doctor what occa- 
sioned the noise ; he could not tell, but replied that he, 
together with several others, had examined the house, 
but was unable to discover the cause. I then took a 
candle and went with the girl into the cellar ; there the 
knocking also continued ; but, as we were ascending 
the stairs to return, I heard a prodigious rapping op each 
side, which alarmed me very much. I stood still 4ome 
time, looking around with amazement, when I beheld 
some lumber which lay at the head of the stairs shake 
considerably. About eight or ten days after, we visited 
the girl again. The knocking still continued, but was 
much louder. Our curiosity induced us to pay the third 
visit, when the phenomena were still more alarming. I 
then saw the chairs move; a large dining-table was 
thrown against me, and a small stand, on which stood 
a candle, was tossed up and thrown in my wife's lap ; 
after which we left the house, much surprised at what 
we had seen." 

The case which we next cite is so well authenticated, 
as to remove all reasonable doubt, to say the least, of its 
actual occurrence. The facts occurred in the family of 
Mr. Joseph Barron, of Woodbridge, New Jersey, in the 
year 1834. We give the account as published, at the 
time, in the Newark Daily Advertiser. 

li The first sounds were those of a loud thumping, 
apparently against the side of the house, which com- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 73 

menced one evening when the family had retired, and 
continued at short intervals until daylight, when it 
ceased. 

" The next evening it commenced at nightfall, when 
it was ascertained to be mysteriously connected with 
the movements of a servant girl in the family, — a white 
girl, about fourteen years of age. While passing a 
window on the stairs, for example, a sudden jar, accom- 
panied with an explosive sound, broke a pane of glass, 
the girl at the same time being seized with a violent 
spasm. This, of course, very much alarmed her; and 
the physician, Dr. Drake, was sent for ; came, and bled 
her. The bleeding, however, produced no apparent 
effect. The noise still continued, as before, at intervals, 
wherever the girl went, each sound producing more or 
less of a spasm ; and the physician, with all the family, 
remained up during the night. At daylight the thump- 
ing ceased again. In the evening the same thing was 
repeated, commencing a little earlier than before ; and 
so every evening since, continuing each night until 
morning, and commencing each night a little earlier 
than before, until yesterday, when the thumping began 
about twelve o'clock at noon. The circumstances were 
soon generally spread through the neighborhood, and 
have produced so much excitement that the house has 
been filled and surrounded from sunrise to sunset for 
nearly a ' week. Every imaginable means have been 
resorted to, in order to unravel the phenomenon. At 
one time the girl would be removed from one apartment 
to another, but without effect. Wherever she was 
placed, at certain intervals the thumping noise would be 
heard in the room. She was taken to a neighboring 
house. The same result followed. When carried out 
of doors, however, no noise is heard. Dr. Drake, who 

7 



74 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

has been constant in his attendance during the whole 
period, occasionally aided by other scientific observers, 
was with us last evening for two hours, when we were 
politely allowed a variety of experiments with the girl, 
in addition to those heretofore tried, to satisfy ourselves 
that there is no imposition in the case, and, if possible, 
to discover the secret agent of the mystery. The girl 
was in an upper room, with a part of the family, when 
we reached the house. The noise then resembled that 
which would be produced by a person violently thump- 
ing the upper floor with the head of an axe, five or six 
times in succession, jarring the house, ceasing a few 
minutes and then resuming as before. We were soon 
introduced into the apartment, and permitted to observe 
for ourselves. The girl appeared to be in perfect health, 
cheerful and free from the spasms felt at first, and en- 
tirely relieved from every thing like the fear or appre- 
hension which she manifested for some days. The 
invisible noise, however, continued to occur as before, 
though somewhat diminished in frequency, while we 
were in the room. In order to ascertain more satisfac- 
torily that she did not produce it voluntarily, among 
other experiments we placed her on a chair on a blanket 
in the centre of the room, bandaged the chair with a 
cloth, fastening her feet on the front round, and confin- 
ing her hands together on her lap. No change, however, 
was produced. The thumping continued as before, ex- 
cept that it was not quite so loud ; the noise resembling 
that which would be produced by stamping on the floor 
with a heavy heel, yet she did not move a limb or 
muscle, that we could discover. She remained in this 
position long enough to satisfy all in the room that the 
girl exercised, voluntarily, no sort of agency in producing 
the noise. It was observed that the noise became greater, 



THE MISSION OP " THE SPIRITS." 75 

the further she was removed from any other person. 
We placed her in the doorway of a closet in the room, 
the door being ajar to allow her to stand in the passage. 
In less than one minute the door flew open as if vio- 
lently struck with a mallet, accompanied by precisely 
such a noise as such a thump would produce. This was 
repeated several times, with the same effect. In short, 
in whatever position she was placed, whether in or out 
of the room, similar results, varied a little perhaps by 
circumstances, were produced. There is certainly no 
deception in the case. . . . The noise was heard at least 
one hundred yards from the house." 

In this case also, as well as in those previously cited, 
there is no ground for the least suspicion of the action 
of any other than an exclusively physical cause. 

The following somewhat lengthy extract from 
" Roger's Philosophy of Mysterious Rappings," pre- 
sents two additional cases, of much interest and impor- 
tance, in their bearings upon our present inquiries. 
The author will pardon us, for making, for the sake of 
science, such a free use of his facts and remarks. 

" The wonderful occurrences at Stockwell,* in Eng- 
land, in January, 1772, are of the same character as the 
above. We can barely give the most important parts 
of the phenomena here, and leave the reader to consult 
the work referred to in the note. No intelligence was 
manifest in this case. 

" On Monday, January 6th, 1772, about ten o'clock 
in the forenoon, as Mrs. Golding (the hostess) was in 
the parlor, she heard the china and glasses in the back 
kitchen tumble down and break ; her maid came to her, 
and told her the stone, plates were falling from the 
shelf; Mrs. Golding went into the kitchen, and saw 

* See Catherine Crowe's Night-side of Nature, page 370. 



76 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

them broken. Presently after, a row of plates from the 
next shelf fell down likewise, while she was there, and 
nobody near them ; this astonished her much, and 
while she was thinking about it, other things, in dif- 
ferent places, began to tumble about, some of them 
breaking, attended with violent noises all over the 
house ; a clock tumbled down, and the case broke. 
The destruction increased with the wonder and terror 
of Mrs. Golding. Wherever she went, accompanied 
by the servant girl, this dreadful waste of property fol- 
lowed. 

" Mrs. G., in her terror, fled to a neighbor's where she 
immediately fainted. A surgeon was called, and she 
was bled. The blood, which had hardly congealed, was 
seen all at once to spring out of the basin upon the 
floor, and presently after the basin burst to pieces, and 
a bottle of rum that stood by it broke at the same time. 

" Mrs. G. went to a second neighbor's, as the valu- 
ables that were conveyed to the first were being de- 
stroyed. And while the maid remained at the first 
(Mr. Greshem's) the former was not disturbed, but 
while the latter was ' putting up what few things re- 
mained unbroken of her mistress', in a back apartment, 
a jar of pickles that stood upon a table turned upside 
down ; ' and other things ' were broken to pieces.' " 

" Meantime the disturbances had ceased at Mrs. Gold- 
ing's house, and but little occurred at the neighbors 
while Mrs. G. and her servant remained apart. But as 
soon as they came into each other's company the dis- 
turbance would begin again. 

" ' At all these periods of action,' says the detail, 
' Mrs. Golding's servant was walking backward and for- 
ward, in either the kitchen or parlor, or wherever some 
of the family happened to be. Nor could they get her 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 77 

to sit down five minutes together, except at one time, 
for about half an hour toward the morning, when the 
family were at prayers in the parlor ; then all was 
quiet ; but, in the midst of the greatest confusion, she 
was as much composed as at any other time, and, with 
uncommon coolness of temper, advised her mistress 
not to be alarmed or uneasy, as she said these things 
could not be helped. Thus she argued as if they 
were common occurrences, which must happen in every 
family.' 

" ' About five o'clock on Tuesday morning, Mrs. Gold- 
ing went to the chamber of her niece, and desired her 
to get up, as the noises and destruction were so great 
she could continue in the house no longer ; at this time 
all the tables, chairs, drawers, etc., were tumbling about.' 
In consequence of this resolution, Mrs. Golding and 
maid went over the way, to Richard Fowler's. The 
latter left her mistress, and returned to Mrs. Pain's, to 
help this lady dress her children. ' At this time all was 
quiet. They then went to Fowler's, and then began 
the same scene as had happened at the other places. It 
must be remarked, all was quiet here, as elsewhere, till 
the maid returned.' 

" When they reached Mr. Fowler's, he began to light 
a fire in his back room. When done, he put the candle- 
stick upon a table in the fore room. ( This apartment 
Mrs. Golding and her maid had just passed through.) 
This candlestick, and another with a tin lamp in it, that 
stood by it, were dashed together, and fell to the ground. 
A lantern, with which Mrs. Golding was lighted across 
the road, sprung from a hook to the ground. The last 
thing was, the basket of coals tumbled over, the coals 
rolling about the room. 

" Mrs. G. and her servant now returned home, when 
7 * 



78 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the same scene was repeated. Mr. Pain then desired 
Mrs. Golding to send her maid for his wife to come to 
them. When she was gone, all was quiet. Upon her 
return, she was immediately discharged, and no disturb- 
ances happened afterward. This was between six and 
seven o'clock on Tuesday morning. 

" The whole account contains the following impor- 
tant particulars : 

" 1. The phenomena commenced at ten o'clock, A. M. 

" 2. They always depended upon the presence of 
the servant-maid. 

" 3. They occurred always with the greatest energy 
when the mistress was in the company of the maid. 

" 4. When the maid passed through a room alone 
there would be little or no disturbance of its contents ; 
but, if she was soon after followed by Mrs. Golding, 
various articles would begin to play the most singular 
pranks, as if Puck himself had come again. 

" 5. Very often one article would be attracted by 
another, or they would fly towards each other, and, 
striking together, fall upon the floor, as if both had been 
charged with some physical agent which made them act 
like opposite poles. Then, also, one would fly from 
another, as by repulsive forces. 

" 6. The phenomena were accompanied with vio- 
lent concussive sounds about the house. 

" 7. Every thing which Mrs. Golding had touched 
seems to have been in some way affected, so that after- 
ward, on the approach of the maid, it would be fre- 
quently broken to atoms, sometimes without even her 
touch. Even the blood of Mrs. G. was highly suscep- 
tible under the same circumstances, and the bowl in 
which it was contained, and the glass ware standing by 
it, burst to pieces. 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 79 

" In the year 1835, a suit was brought before the 
sheriff of Edinburgh, Scotland, for the recovery of dam- 
ages suffered in a certain house owned by Mr. Webster. 
Captain Molesworth was the defendant at the trial.* 
The following facts were developed: Mr. Molesworth 
had seriously damaged the house, both as to substance 
and reputation, 

"1. By sundry holes which he cut in the walls, tear- 
ing up of the floors, etc., to discover the cause of certain 
noises which tormented himself and family. 

" 2. By the bad name he had given the house, stat- 
ing that it was haunted. Witnesses for the defend- 
ant were sheriff's officers, justices of the peace, and 
officers of the regiment quartered near by ; all of whom 
had been at the said house sundry times to aid Captain 
M. detect the invisible cause of so much disturbance. 

" The important facts bearing upon our subject were 
the following : — 

" 1. The disturbance consisted in certain noises, such 
as knockings, pounding, scratching sounds, rustlings in 
different parts of a particular room, — sometimes, how- 
ever, in other parts of the house. 

" 2. Certain boards of the floor would seem to be 
at times most infected with the noises. Then certain 
points in the walls (at which Mr. M. would discharge 
his gun, or cut into with an axe, all to no purpose, 
however) . 

" 3. The bed whereon a young girl, aged thirteen 
years, had been confined by disease, would very often 
be raised above the floor, as if a sudden force was ap- 
plied beneath it ; which would greatly alarm her and 
the whole family, and cause the greatest perplexity. 

* See Night-side of Nature, page 400. 



80 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

" 4. This force was soon discovered to be in some 
strange way connected with this invalid. 

" 5. The concussions which it often produced on the 
walls would cause them visibly to tremble. 

" 6. Wherever the young invalid was moved, this 
force accompanied her." 

How perfectly similar the above occurrences are to 
those which happened in the family of Rev. Dr. Phelps, 
of Stamford, Ct., occurrences which consisted of rapping 
sounds, moving of tables, etc., and which commenced 
March 10, 1850. Of these singular events the Dr. 
makes, among many others, the following statements. 

" The phenomena consisted in the moving of articles 
of furniture in a manner that could not be accounted for. 
Knives, forks, spoons, nails, blocks of wood, etc., were 
thrown in different directions about the house. They 
were seen to move from places and in directions which 
made it certain that no visible power existed by which 
the motion could be produced. For days and weeks 
together, I watched these strange movements, with all 
the care, and caution, and close attention, which I could 
bestow. I witnessed them hundreds and hundreds of 
times, and I know that in hundreds of instances they 
took place when there was no visible power by which 
the motion could have been produced. Scores of per- 
sons, of the first standing in the community, whose edu- 
cation, general intelligence, candor, veracity, and sound 
judgment, none will question, were requested to witness 
the phenomena, and, if possible, help us to a solution 
of the mystery. But as yet no solution has been ob- 
tained. The idea that the whole was a ' trick of the 
children,' — an idea which some of the papers have en- 
deavored, with great zeal, to promulgate, — is to every 
one who is acquainted with the facts as stupid as it ia 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 81 

false and injurious. The statement, too, which some 
of the papers have reiterated so often, that ' the mystery- 
was found out,' is, I regret to say, untrue. "With the 
most thorough investigation which I have been able to 
bestow upon it, aided by gentlemen of the best talents, 
intelligence, and sound judgment, in this and in many 
neighboring towns, the cause of these strange phenom- 
ena remains yet undiscovered." 

A writer in the New Haven Journal and Courier 
relates the following facts, of which he was an eye-wit- 
ness. 

" While we were there," says he, " the contents of the 
pantry were emptied into the kitchen, and bags of salt, 
tin ware, and heavier culinary articles, were thrown in a 
promiscuous heap upon the floor, with a loud and start- 
ling noise. Loaves of delicious cake were scattered 
about the house. The large knocker of the outside door 
would thunder its fearful tones through the loud-re- 
sounding hall, unmindful of the vain but rigid scrutiny 
to which it was subjected by incredulous and curious 
men. Chairs would deliberately move across the room, 
unimpelled by any visible agency. Heavy marble-top 
tables would poise themselves upon two legs, and then 
fall with their contents to the floor, no human being 
within six feet of them." 

According to the statements of Dr. Phelps, the fol- 
lowing are some of the circumstances attending these 
manifestations. " 1. They were most violent when the 
whole family were together," il less frequent and feebler 
when but one of the two children (belonging to Mrs. 
Phelps, she being the doctor's second wife,) were in the 
house," and " more frequent in connection with a lad 
(one of the' above children) of about eleven" years of 
age. " 2. These children had been frequently mesmer- 



ba MODERN MYSTERIES. 

ized into the trance and clairvoyant state by their father," 
and one was subject to " spontaneous trance, and was 
found, at one time, in the barn, in a cataleptic state." 
3. " When these children, with their mother, removed to 
Pennsylvania, the phenomena did not follow them." 
No facts can more clearly indicate the presence and 
action of an invisible, but purely physical cause, a cause 
connected with the organism of particular individuals, 
than these. 

The following letter, which has been kindly furnished 
us by Rev. E. N. Kirk, will be read with interest, and 
the facts stated will not be doubted by our readers. 

Rev. A. Mahan: — 

Dear Brother, — By your request, I commit to paper 
the following narrative : — 

In the course of my residence in Albany, as pastor of 
the Fourth Presbyterian Church, somewhere about the 
year 1834, (I have no means at present of recalling the 
precise year,) I was witness to phenomena, at that 
time totally beyond the sphere of all former experience ; 
and, by me, utterly inexplicable. 

I had been preaching three times on a Sunday, and 
was lying on the sofa in my house, at about 10 o'clock, 
when a gentleman entered the parlor in a highly excited 
state of mind. He spoke very hurriedly, saying, " a 
young woman is possessed of the devil, and wishes you 
to come and pray with her." Without waiting for 
further explanations, I hastened to follow him. On en- 
tering the house I saw a girl of about twenty years of 
age, lying quietly on a large bed, surrounded by a few 
persons. They described her as seeing frightful spirits, 
who threatened to carry her off. And their approaches to 
her were always indicated to the spectators by a convul- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 83 

sive action of her whole frame ; an earnest entreaty to 
be saved from them ; and a peculiarly sudden, sharp 
knocking. I at once suspected some collusion, and 
made as thorough an examination of the premises as I 
could; but nothing appeared which could furnish any ex- 
planation of the sounds they described. I then treated 
her as I would any other person in sickness calling for 
the counsel and prayers of a clergyman. At about 
midnight I concluded that my presence was no longer 
needed, and that my curiosity was not to be gratified 
by witnessing any thing marvellous. I accordingly 
went to the bed and leaned upon the high footboard, 
(the bedstead being of the French pattern ;) as I looked 
earnestly into her face, she suddenly started from her 
reclining posture, screaming and staring wildly ; and, at 
the same instant, three distinct, sharp raps, as if made 
with the knuckles of the fist, upon the very board on 
which I was leaning, startled me. I examined if her 
feet were touching the board ; or if any visible connec- 
tion existed between the board and the floor, except that 
of the bedposts. Nothing of the kind was visible. I 
then requested her friends to lay the bed on the floor on 
the opposite side of the room, and furnish me a lamp, 
that I might go into the room beneath, and watch the 
floor, (for the room was directly over the cellar). After 
watching there for half an hour, the rappings were re- 
peated, but with no visible cause. I then left the house. 
On the next day, as I was informed, President Nott of 
Union College went to see the girl; but no knockings 
occurred after I saw her. 

When this case occurred, I remember a gentleman 
stating that something similar had been witnessed in 
Poughkeepsie, many years ago, of which I now speak, 
only to put you on the track of inquiry, if you wish to 



84 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

accumulate evidence of these phenomena having occur- 
red long before the present day. 

"Wishing you divine guidance, and great success in 
rescuing our fellow men from hurtful delusions, 
I remain, cordially yours, 

Edw. N. Kirk. 

Boston, June 26, 1855. 

In the above cases which might be multiplied to any 
extent, we have all the physical phenomena connected 
with " the spirit manifestations," with the exception of 
those which present the characteristics of intelligence. 
We will now adduce a case belonging to this latter 
class. We give this case, also, as cited by Mr. Rogers 
in the valuable work above referred to. The facts are 
so well authenticated, that nothing but their strangeness 
can induce any one to discredit them. We must learn, 
however, the important lesson, that we cannot tell what 
powers exist in nature but through' their manifestations, 
and that we cannot determine a priori what those 
manifestations shall be. The facts which we are 
about to present were recorded at the time of their oc- 
currence, were then attested by multitudes of the most 
intelligent and credible witnesses, and an uninterrupted 
tradition, from that time to the present, has preserved 
among the people of the place and the surrounding 
country, an undoubted conviction of their occurrence. 
Such is the evidence. Without further remarks, we 
give the facts as condensed by the author referred to. 

" The singular case of the Drummer of Tedworth, in 
England, will throw still further light upon this mysteri- 
ous subject. It seems that Mr. John Mompesson,* of 
Tedworth, in the county of Wilts, about the middle of 

* See Sadducismus Triwmphus, by J. Glanvil. London, 1726, p. 270. 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 85 

March, in the year 1661, being in a neighboring town, 
and hearing a drum beat, inquired of the bailiff of the 
town, at whose house he was stopping, what it meant. 
The bailiff answered that they had for some days been 
troubled with an idle drummer, who demanded money 
of the constable by virtue of a pretended pass, which he 
thought was counterfeit. Upon this, Mr. Mompesson 
sent for the fellow, and asked him by what authority he 
went up and down the country in that manner with his 
drum. The drummer answered that he had good au- 
thority, and produced his pass, with a warrant under 
the hands of Sir "William Cawley, and Colonel Ayliff, 
of. Greatenham. The pass and warrant were both 
found, on examination, to be counterfeit. He was 
therefore conveyed by a constable to a justice of the 
peace, for trial. Whereupon he confessed, and begged 
earnestly to have his drum, which was promised him in 
case he was, as he had asserted himself to be, Colonel 
A.'s drummer. The drum was therefore left with the 
bailiff, and the drummer was released. 

" In April the bailiff sent the drum to Mr. Mompes- 
son's house, just as the latter was about leaving on a 
journey to London. Soon after leaving home, Mr. M.'s 
family began to be very much disturbed by sundry 
strange sounds about the house, as of persons trying 
to break in. This continued at intervals, until Mr. M. 
returned. ' And he had not been home above three 
nights, when the same noise was heard. It consisted 
of poundings on his door, and on the sides of the house. 
Pistols in hand, he went about the house. Instantly, 
on going to one door, the sounds would be made at 
another. On going outside, nothing could be seen, but 
still the sounds would be heard. On returning to bed, 
it commenced on the top of the house, and resembled a 

8 



86 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

species of quick-pace drumming. After this, the sounds 
became very frequent, usually five nights together, and 
then they would intermit three. 

" ' The noise constantly came as they were going to 
sleep, whether early or late. And, after a month's dis- 
turbance on the outside, it came into the room where 
the drum lay, four or five nights in seven, within half an 
hour after they were in bed, continuing almost two 
hours, beating on the drum and on the doors,' etc. The 
sign of it, just before it came, was, they heard a hurling, 
as if in the air, over the house ; and, at its going off, 
there was the beating of a drum, like that at the break- 
ing up of a guard. It continued in this room for the 
space of two months, which time Mr. Mompesson him- 
self lay there to observe it. In the fore part of the night 
it used to be very troublesome, but after two hours all 
would be quiet. 

" At one time there was a cessation for three weeks. 
After this, it returned in a ruder manner than before, 
and followed and vexed the young children, beating 
their bedsteads with that violence that all present ex- 
pected when they would fall in pieces. In laying hands 
on them [the bedsteads] no blows would be felt, but 
they would be felt to shake exceedingly. For hours 
together there would be drummed out the tat-too, cuck- 
olds, round-heads, and several other points of war, as well 
as any drummer could execute. Then there would be 
scratching sounds under the children's beds. The chil- 
dren would be lifted up in their beds. If they were 
taken into other rooms, the sounds would follow them 
there, and, for a while, haunted none particularly but 
them. A board in their room was moved backwards 
and forwards and up and down towards a servant, who 
requested it to move thus, which was observed by a 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 87 

whole room full of people, and during the daytime. 
At night the minister and many neighbors came to the 
house ; and then, in sight of the company, the chairs 
walked about the room of themselves. The children's 
shoes also flew about, and every loose thing moved 
about the chamber. A ' bed-staff,' for instance, moved 
towards the minister, as if attracted, and there rested 
quiet, without moving further. 

" Mr. M., perceiving that it so much persecuted the 
children, lodged them out at a neighbor's house, taking 
his eldest daughter, ten years old, into his own chamber, 
where the sounds had not been for a month before. As 
soon as she was in bed, the disturbances commenced 
here again, continuing three weeks, — drumming and 
other sounds. 

" It was observed that it would exactly answer, in 
drumming, any thing that was beaten by persons present, 
or any tune called for. 

" Mr. M.'s servant was next seized with the infection. 
He was a stout fellow, and of a sober conversation. 
He had remained free until now, when all at once his 
bedclothes would unaccountably creep off the bed, and 
it required considerable skill to keep them on. His 
limbs would become paralyzed, or seized with rigid 
spasms ; but if he could get hold of his sword, this 
spasm would leave him. 

" A little after this, the son of a gentleman for whom 
the drummer had worked came and told Mr. Mompes- 
son what the drummer had said to him in the prison, 
which was the following : The drummer asked of sev- 
eral who came to see him, from Mr. M.'s neighborhood, 
' What news in Wilts ? ' To which they replied they 
knew none. ' No ? ' says the drummer ; ' did you not 
hear of a gentleman's house that was troubled with the 



88 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

beating of drums ? ' They told him again, if that were 
news, they heard enough of that. ' Ay,' says the drum- 
mer, ' it was because he took my drum from me ; if he 
had not taken away my drum, that trouble had never 
befallen him ; and he shall never have his quiet again, 
till I have my drum, or satisfaction from him.' * These 
words were not well taken by Mr. M., and as soon as 
they were in bed, the drum was beat upon very violently 
and loudly, giving the drummer's tunes. 

" Strange singing was also heard. And one night, 
about this time, lights were seen in the house. One of 
them came into Mr. Mompesson's chamber, which 
seemed blue and glimmering (see Reichenbach), and 
caused great stiffness in the eyes of those that saw it. 
The light was seen also four or five times in the chil- 
dren's chamber. The doors also were opened and shut 
without the contact of any mortal present. 

" During the time of the knocking, when many were 
present, a gentleman of the company said, ' Satan, if 
the drummer set thee to work, give three knocks and no 
more ; ' which it did very distinctly, and stopped. Then 
the gentleman knocked, to see if it would answer him, 
as it was wont ; but it did not. For further trial, he bid 
it for confirmation, if it were the drummer, to give five 
knocks and no more that night ; which it did, and left 
the house quiet all the night after. This was done in the 
presence of Sir Thomas Chamberlain, of Oxfordshire, 
and divers others. At another time, it played four or five 
several tunes on one of the doors, and then seemingly 
went off in the .-iir. At another time, when a black- 
smith was stopping over night, they heard the imitations 
of a smith shoeing a horse. 

* See Mr. Mompesson's Letter to Mr. Collins. Preface to Second 
Part of Sadducismus Trlumphatus, page 221. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 89 

" Mr. Glenvi), who gives this case, visited the house, 
and by his own careful observations confirms what 
others had observed. He noticed one remarkable phe- 
nomenon, which many others had also witnessed, — that 
of a panting sound in the room where the children lay. 
' The motion caused by it was so strong,' says he, ' that 
it shook the room and windows very sensibly.' 

" A little child, newly taken from the nurse, was now 
seized with spasms and fright ; and the other children 
were also affected so that they had to be removed again. 
There was a purring sound in their bed, like a cat. The 
clothes were raised up, and ' six men could not keep 
them down.' The children were affected with spasms 
in their legs, which were irresistibly beaten upon the 
bed-posts. Thus we have not only the epidemic char- 
acter of this disorder, which is also represented in our 
present mania, but the same characteristic symptoms 
are exhibited in both. 

" The drummer, on account of saying what we have 
already mentioned, was tried as a witch, and condemned 
to transportation. By some means he escaped and re- 
turned. And it is observable, says our author, that dur- 
ing all the time of his restraint and absence the house was 
quiet, but as soon as ever he came back at liberty the 
disturbances returned.* So we have known it in our 
rappings." 

In the above and the cases previously cited, all the 
physical facts attending the spirit manifestations are 
perfectly paralleled. In addition to these, we notice 
also the accordance of those strange phenomena with 
the mental states of spectators who come into rapport 

* Ibid. p. 280. Baxter confirms the above story, having seen a 
number of the witnesses who were living in his days. See his Cer- 
tainty of the World of Spirits, p. 19. 

8* 



90 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

with the mysterious power by which those phenomena 
were produced. The " drum would exactly answer, in 
drumming, any thing that was beaten by persons pres- 
ent, or any tune called for." So of the rapping sounds 
about the house. At one time three knocks, and at 
another five, were called for, and precisely these num- 
bers were given and no more. A request was made, 
that after a certain number of these sounds were given, 
they should cease for the night, and that request was com- 
plied with. The singular accordance of these strange 
facts with the phenomena of the spirit manifestations 
on their first appearance in the family of Mr. Fox in 
Arcadia near Rochester, N. Y., will hereafter be noticed. 
This accordance will be seen to throw much light upon 
the question of the origin and cause of these manifesta- 
tions, especially as far as the characteristics of intelli- 
gence are concerned. 

We now adduce the case of Mrs. Frederica Hauffe 
of Provost, a small village located in the mountainous 
districts of Germany. The facts of the case are given 
by Dr. Kerner, her attendant physician, and given as 
recorded at the time of their occurrence. The facts, 
moreover, were witnessed by multitudes of scientific 
men, and others, of Germany, many of whom are now 
living. In these regions, as we are informed by her bi- 
ographer, " a sort of St. Vitus's dance becomes epidemic, 
so that all the children of the place are seized with it at 
the same time," who, " like persons in a magnetic state, 
are aware of the precise moment that a fit will seize 
them." " If they are in the fields when the paroxysm is 
approaching, they hasten home, and immediately fall 
into convulsions, when they soon rise upon their feet, 
and move for an hour or more with the most surprising 
regularity, keeping measure like an accomplished dancer. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 91 

They then " awake as out of a magnetic sleep, without 
any recollection of what has happened." 

It was in such a locality that the individual above 
named became subject to a peculiar magnetic disease 
which finally terminated, in the year 1822, in a magnetic 
sleep which continued about seven years with occa- 
sional interruptions. The following may be enumerated 
as among the important facts of this case. We adduce 
only such as have a bearing upon our present inquiries. 

1. The early developments of the disorder were char- 
acterized by " knockings on the walls, noises in the air, 
and other sounds which were heard by many different 
people," in her father's house. Many efforts were made 
to discover the cause of these noises, but all in vain. 
" However suddenly a person flew to the place to try to 
detect whence the noise proceeded, they could see noth- 
ing." " If they went outside, the knocking was imme- 
diately heard inside, and vice versa." Her father be- 
came so alarmed that he declared he could stay in the 
house no longer, the noises being " not only audible to 
everybody in it, but to passengers in the street, who 
stopped to listen to them as they passed." Whenever 
any one would sing or play on the piano, these sounds 
would commence on the walls. Articles of furniture, 
crockery, etc., were also moved about, when no cause 
for such movements were visible. 

2. The progress of the disease was marked by great 
physical suffering and convulsions, so that when placed 
under the care of Dr. Kerner, " on the 25th of Novem- 
ber, 1826," she appeared, "a picture of death — wasted 
to a skeleton, and unable to rise or lie down without 
assistance." 

3. While under Dr. Kerner's care, it was found, that 
these rapping sounds not only continued in the room 



92 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

and house where she wa'S, but that she could regulate 
them at will, and even produce any number she chose 
in the neighboring houses of individuals who had pre- 
viously been with her, and had thus come into rapport 
with the mysterious force with which her system was 
charged. The following is the statement of Dr. Kerner 
on this subject. 

"As I had been told by her parents, a year before her 
father's death, that at the period of her early magnetic 
state she was able to make herself heard by her friends, 
as they lay in bed at night, in the same village, but in 
other houses, by a knocking — as is said of the dead — 
I asked her, in her sleep, whether she was able to do so 
now, and at what distance. She answered that she 
would sometimes do it. Some time after this, as we 
were going to bed — my children and servants being 
already asleep — we heard a knocking, as if in the air 
over our heads. There were six knocks, at intervals of 
half a minute. It was a hollow yet clear sound, soft but 
distinct. We were certain there was no one near us, 
nor over us, from whom it could proceed ; and our house 
stands by itself. On the following evening, when she 
was asleep — when we had mentioned the knocking to 
nobody whatever — she asked me whether she should soon 
knock to us again; which, as she said it was hurtful to 
her, I declined." 

Other individuals had precisely similar experiences in 
their own habitations. She not only was enabled to 
produce these sounds, under such circumstances, but to 
cause her voice to be heard by such individuals, even 
when at a distance from her. 

4. At times her perceptive powers were so quickened 
that she could perceive distant objects, objects located 
entirely beyond the reach of the senses. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 93 

5. At other times her intellectual faculties were ele- 
vated, so that she would discourse on high themes in 
language of corresponding excellence. In some in- 
stances, for days in succession, all her thoughts were 
uttered in verse. 

6. She could discern and repeat the thoughts, and tell 
the physical states of those who came into magnetic 
communication with her, precisely as mesmeric subjects 
can do in respect to those with whom they are in mes- 
meric communication. All the facts of mesmerism and 
clairvoyance, in their entireness, presented themselves 
in this case. 

7. As in the case of Angelique Cottin, surrounding 
objects were attracted towards, or repelled from her. 
Sometimes objects, without any visible cause, would 
advance towards, or recede from her. At one time Dr. 
Kerner, on placing the ends of his fingers near those of 
hers, found that there was so powerful an attraction 
between them that, on raising his hand upward, her body 
was lifted entirely from the ground, and suspended in 
the air, just as the magnet suspends a piece of iron. 
This experiment was subsequently, at sundry times, 
repeated by himself and others, with the same results. 
We have here a perfect demonstration of the existence 
of a polar force, analogous, in all these respects, to mag- 
netism. 

The case which we next adduce is cited from the 
work of Mr. Rogers, from which we have taken so many 
extracts, and we give it as cited by him. 

"Another singular case is that of Mademoiselle Eliza- 
beth de Ranfaing,* of Lorraine, who, it was supposed, 
became possessed with the devil, about the year 1620. 

* Se.e Calmet on the " History and Philosophy of Spirits," etc., 
chap. xxvi. p. 123. 



94 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

The facts were published, at Nancy, in the year 1622, 
by M. Pichard, a doctor of medicine, and physician-in- 
ordinary to their highnesses of Lorraine. This lady 
had been a very virtuous person, and had established a 
kind of order of Nuns of the Refuge, the principal object 
of which was to withdraw from profligacy the girls or 
women who had fallen into libertinism. 

Mademoiselle Ranfaing, having become a widow in 
1617, was sought in marriage by a physician named 
Poviot. 

" As she would not listen to his addresses, he first of 
all gave her philters to make her love him, which occa~ 
sioned strange derangement in her health. At last he 
gave her some magical medicaments. The physicians 
could not relieve her, and were quite at fault with her 
extraordinary maladies. 

" After having tried all sorts of remedies, they were 
obliged to have recourse to exorcisms. This treatment 
commenced 2d September, 1619, in the town of Remire- 
mont, whence she was transferred to Nancy; there she 
was visited and interrogated by several clever physi- 
cians, who, as a final decision, l declared that the cas- 
ualties they had remarked in her, had no relation at all 
with the ordinary course of known maladies, and could 
only be the rusult of diabolical possession." 1 [These were 
as wise doctors as some we have now.] The Bishop 
of Toul then ordered the nomination, for exorcists, of 
M. Viardin, a doctor of divinity, counsellor of State of 
the Duke of Lorraine, a Jesuit and Capuchin. A host 
of monks, and many of the highest dignitaries of both 
church and State, were present at the exorcisms, together 
with a large body of learned men. 

" The physical phenomena presented in this case 
were spasms and involuntary motions. Calmet, how- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 95 

ever, has not seen fit to say much about this class of 
symptoms ; but he implies the fact of her being subject 
to them, in what he has given with regard to the devil 
throwing the woman upon the ground, etc. M. Pich- 
ard, however, has given them, in his account. The phe- 
nomena from cerebral irritation are very wonderful. 

" When she was exorcised in either Hebrew, Greek, 
or Latin, she always replied pertinently to them, — 
she who could hardly read Latin. M. Nichols de 
Harley, very well skilled in Hebrew, exorcised her in 
this language, and he found her capable of answering 
him correctly merely from the movement of his lips, with- 
out his pronouncing a word. This was proof, to him, 
that she was really possessed of a devil. 

" The questions and commands were therefore ad- 
dressed, not to the woman, but to the supposed devil. 
All the replies, made involuntarily by the woman, were 
therefore taken for granted to be the replies of the 
demon. 

" The Rev. Father Abbert, Capuchin, having observed 
that the demon (that is, the woman) wished to overturn 
the benitier, or basin of holy water, which was there, he 
ordered him (the woman) to take the holy water and 
not spill it, and he (she) obeyed. The Father com- 
manded him (her) to give marks of possession ; he (she) 
answered, ' The possession is sufficiently known.' The 
Father added, in Greek, ' I command thee to carry some 
holy water to the governor of the town.' The woman 
replied : ' It is not customary to exorcise in that tongue.' 
The Father answered, in Latin, ' It is not for thee to 
impose laws on us, but the church has power to com- 
mand thee in whatever language she may think proper.' 
Then the woman took the basin of holy water, and 
carried it to the keeper of the Capuchins, to the Duke 
Eric of Lorraine, and to other lords. 



96 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

" He discovered secret thoughts, and heard words that 
were said in the ear of some persons which he was not 
possibly near enough to overhear, and declared that he 
had heard the mental prayer a good priest had made 
before the holy sacrament. 

" They proposed to him very difficult questions con- 
cerning the Trinity, the incarnation, the holy sacrament 
of the altar, the grace of God, freewill, the manner in 
which angels and demons knew the thoughts of men, 
etc., and he replied with much clearness and precision. 
She discovered things unknown to everybody ; and re- 
vealed to certain persons, but secretly and in private, 
some sins of which they had been guilty. 

"" The demon (the woman) did not obey the voice only 
of the exorcists ; he obeyed even when they simply 
moved their lips, or held their hand, or a handkerchief, 
or a book, upon the mouth. A Calvinist having one 
day mingled secretly in the crowd, the exorcist, who 
was warned of it, commanded the demon (the woman) 
to go and kiss his feet; he (she) went immediately, 
rushing through the crowd. 

" An Englishman having come from curiosity to the 
exorcist, the woman told him several particulars relating 
to his country and religion. He was a Puritan ; and 
the Englishman owned that every thing she had said 
was true. The same Englishman said to her, in his 
language, ' As a proof of thy possession, tell me the 
name of my master who formerly taught me embroid- 
ery.' She replied, ' William.' They commanded her 
to recite the Ave Maria. She said to a Huguenot gen- 
tleman who was present, ' Do you say it, if you know 
it; for they don't say it amongst your people.' M. 
Pichard relates several unknown and hidden things 
which the woman revealed, and that she performed 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 97 

several feats which it is not possible for any person, 
however agile and supple he may be, to achieve by 
natural strength or power." 

On the above case the following remarks are deemed 
of special importance. 1. The cause of these singular 
phenomena is too manifest to admit of a doubt in re- 
gard to its nature, and that cause was exclusively mun- 
dane and physical. 2. The entire mental and physical 
activity of this individual was controlled by those who 
came into magnetic rapport with her, precisely as those 
who are mesmerized are by their mesmerizers. The in- 
dividual supposed herself possessed of the devil, simply 
and exclusively, because her self-assumed and self- 
deceived exorcists supposed her thus possessed, just as 
the mesmeric subjects would suppose themselves sub- 
jects of similar possessions, did the mesmerizers enter- 
tain this opinion of them. Answers and communica- 
tions were received as from the devil, just as they would 
come as from him from mesmeric subjects, if the same 
conditions were fulfilled. 3. We have, in this case, the 
same transference of thought, as in the mesmeric rela- 
tions. Hence the singular revelations of secret thoughts, 
and secret acts, and answers to questions pertaining to 
subjects of which all were profoundly ignorant but the 
inquirers themselves, and all this in whatever lan- 
guage the individual was addressed. 

Similar facts occurred in the family of Cotton Mather, 
in the case of some children whom he had taken under 
his care, in consequence of their being supposed to have 
been bewitched. These children would repeat the se- 
cret thoughts of those who came into communication 
with them. Even when passages from the Hebrew or 
Greek scriptures were read to them, they would give the 
correct interpretation, that is, the meaning which the 

9 



98 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

reader attached to said passages. Where passages 
were read in the Indian language, however, a language 
of course not understood by the reader, the interpretation 
could not be given. Any thought in the inquirer's mind 
was instantly reproduced in that of the child, precisely 
in accordance with what occurs in the mesmeric rela- 
tions. Cases of this kind were commonly accompanied 
with physical manifestations in accordance with those 
which we have above noticed. Our fathers were as 
familiar with the rapping sounds, the movement of arti- 
cles of furniture, etc., as we are. They, in their igno- 
rance, attributed these manifestations to satanic agency. 
We, in our wisdom, have attributed them to the inter- 
position of departed spirits. However mysterious the 
facts above cited may appear, the following conclusions 
pertaining to them are too manifest to be denied, to 
wit : 1. The cause of these strange phenomena is exclu- 
sively mundane and physical. Nothing can be more 
unphilosophical than to attribute such phenomena to 
the interposition of disembodied spirits. 2. This power 
when developed in the human system, in connection 
with the brain, as its nerve centre, accords in its action, 
in certain respects, with the mental states of such indi- 
viduals, and is determined in its action by such states. 
3. When other individuals come into certain relations 
to such persons, the mental states of the former are, in 
many instances, by means of this force, reproduced in 
the minds of the latter, and this precisely in accordance 
with what occurs in the mesmeric relations. 4. In- 
dividuals, under the influence of this same force, often 
present all the peculiar perceptions and other phenom- 
ena which characterize what is called independent clair- 
voyance. They have perceptions by other means than 
the organs of sense, and of objects located totally be- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 99 

yond the reach of the senses. 5. With the terrible 
mental and physical effects induced in such individuals 
by this force, it operates in their physical systems as a 
very strong polar force, attracting and repelling other 
bodies, in accordance with the peculiar phenomena of 
Electricity and Magnetism. 6. Other bodies in contact 
with such persons, or in their immediate vicinity, often 
become charged with the same force, so as to be 
strongly attracted towards, or repelled from each other. 
The force which produces these effects is denominated 
the Odylic Force. Its properties have been most care- 
fully investigated by such philosophers as Eichenbach, 
Metteucci, Thelorier, Lafontaine, and Ashburner, in Eu- 
rope, and the validity of their experiments has been 
indorsed by the highest scientific authority of both 
continents. 



THE ODYLIC FORCE IDENTICAL WITH THAT WHICH IS THE 
IMMEDIATE CAUSE OF THE SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS. 

We now enter upon a very important department of 
our investigations. Spiritualists themselves admit, as 
we have already said, that spirits do not cause these 
manifestations directly, but mediately, that is, through 
the instrumentality of a certain force of some kind pre- 
existing in nature, a force which they have learned to 
control. The agency of the spirits is manifest, if at all, 
not in the existence, or properties of this force, but in 
the direction of its action. The mere fact that sounds 
are heard, and objects moved in these circles, no one has 
the folly to adduce, as proof of an ab extra spirit inter- 
position of any kind. Such interposition, on the other 
hand, is inferred from the accordance of these phenom- 
ena with intelligence, and other considerations of a 



100 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

kindred nature. This force, also, spiritualists, as well as 
others, admit to be exclusively physical in its nature. 
So far, no difference of opinion, as far as our knowledge 
extends, exists between them and their opponents. The 
question which here arises, and to which a specific an- 
swer is here demanded, is, what is the nature of this 
mundane, physical force, which is the immediate cause 
of these so called spirit manifestations ? We answer, 
it is identical with the Odylic Force which we have above 
developed. This we argue from the following consid- 
erations : — 

1. The relation of these causes to certain specific 
localities, is a very decisive proof, in connection with 
other facts, of their absolute identity. In Boston, for 
example, the centre of the phenomena of witchcraft, and 
where the odylic phenomena have ever manifested them- 
selves, mediums were developed as soon as the circles 
were constituted. In Philadelphia, on the other hand, 
where the odylic phenomena had hardly, if ever appeared, 
months elapsed before any of the so called spirit mani- 
festations appeared, though the most careful and perse- 
vering efforts were made to induce them. It is also 
known, and published by spiritualists themselves, that 
individuals who were good mediums in one locality, 
have utterly lost the power, by simple change of locality. 
The origin of " the Rochester Rappings " should not be 
overlooked in this connection. All agree that these 
phenomena first made "their appearance in a certain 
house occupied, by Mr. Michael Weekman, of the village 
of Hydesville, in the town of Arcadia, Wayne county, 
New York. Of the facts which occurred when he 
was a resident of the house, we have the following ac- 
count. 

" Mr. W. resided in this house for about eighteen 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 101 

months, and left sometime in the year 1847.* Mr. 
Weekman makes the statement in substance as follows : 
That one evening, about the time of retiring, he heard 
a rapping on the outside door, and, what was rather 
unusual for him, instead of familiarly bidding them 
{ come in,' stepped to the door and opened it. He had 
no doubt of finding some one who wished to come in, 
but, to his surprise, found no one there. He went back 
and proceeded to undress, when, just before getting into 
bed, he heard another rap at the door, loud and distinct. 
He stepped to the door quickly and opened it, but, as 
before, found no one there. He stepped out and looked 
around, supposing that some one was imposing upon 
him. He could discover no one, and went back into 
the house. After a short time he heard the rapping 
again, and he stepped (it being often repeated) and held 
on to the latch, so that he might ascertain if any one 
had taken that means to annoy him. The rapping was 
repeated, the door opened instantly, but no one was to 
be seen ! He states that he could feel the jar of the 
door very plainly when the rapping was heard. As he 
opened the door, he sprung out and went around the 
house, but no one was in sight. His family were fear- 
ful to have him go out, lest some one intended to harm 
him. It always remained a mystery to him, and finally, 
as the rapping did not at that time continue, passed 
from his mind, except when something of the same na- 
ture occurred to revive it." 

The Weekman family, at length, left the house, and 
in December, 1847, the Fox family entered it. In the fol- 
lowing March, the mysterious sounds were heard again. 

* See History of the Mysterious Communications with Spirits, by 
Capron and Barron, p. 10. 

9* 



102 MODERX MYSTERIES. 

" It seemed," they say, " to be in one of the bedrooms, 
and sounded to them as though some one was knock- 
ing on the floor, moving chairs, etc. Four or five mem- 
bers of the family were at home ; and they all got up 
to ascertain the cause of the noise. Every part of 
the house was searched, yet nothing could be discov- 
ered. A perceptible jar was felt by putting the hand 
on the bedsteads and chairs ; a jar was also experi- 
enced while standing on the floor. The noise "was con- 
tinued that night as long as any one was awake in the 
house. The following evening they were heard as 
before, and on the evening of the 31st of March the 
neighbors were called in for the first time." 

The following is Mrs. Fox's statement of these 
strange occurrences : — 

" On Friday night we concluded to go to bed early, 
and not let it disturb us ; if it came, we thought we 
would not mind it, but try and get a good night's rest. 
My husband was here on all these occasions, heard the 
noise, and helped search. It was very early when we 
went to bed on this night, — hardly dark. We went 
to bed early, because we had been broken so much of 
our rest that I was almost sick. 

" My husband had not gone to bed when we first 
heard the noise on this evening. I had just lain down. 
It commenced as usual. I knew it from all other noises 
I had ever heard in the house. The girls, who slept in 
the other bed in the room, heard the noise, and tried to 
make a similar noise by snapping their fingers. The 
youngest girl is about twelve years old ; she is the one 
who made her hand go. As fast as she made the noise 
with her hands or fingers, the sound was followed up 
in the room. It did not sound any different at that 
time, only it made the same number of noises that the 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 103 

girl did. "When she stopped, the sound itself stopped 
for a short time. 

" The other girl, who is in her fifteenth year, then 
spoke in sport, and said, ' Now do just as I do. 
Count one, two, three, four,' etc., striking one hand in 
the other at the same time. The blows which she 
made were repeated as before. It appeared to answer 
her by repeating every blow that she made. She only 
did so once. She then began to be startled ; and then 
I spoke, and said to the noise, ' Count ten,' and it 
made ten strokes or noises. Then I asked the ages of 
my different children successively, and it gave a number 
of raps corresponding to the ages of my children. 

" I then asked if it was a human being that was 
making the noise ; and, if it was, to manifest it by the 
same noise. There was no noise. I then asked if it 
was a spirit ; and, if it was, to manifest it by two 
sounds. I heard two sounds as soon as the words 
were spoken." * 

" These ' manifestations ' caused great excitement in 
the village, and many persons called at the house of 
Mr. Fox to hear the noises. Many questions were 
asked and answered by raps correctly. Sounds were 
only made when an affirmative answer was the correct 
one to a question, or when numbers were to be desig- 
nated. When the alphabet was called over, there was 
rapping at particular letters.f Soon the experiment 
was carried still further, and, by request, entire names 
and sentences of considerable length were spelled out. 
A signal for the alphabet was soon understood to be 
five raps in quick succession. 

* See Account by D. M. Dewey, Rochester, N. Y. Also, History 
of the same by Capron and Barron, p. 14. 

t See Account by E. E. Lewis, Canandaigua, N. Y. 



104 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

" In a few months after the manifestations were 
first heard by the Fox family, several of the members 
removed from Hydesville to Rochester, and resided 
with a married sister, Mrs. Fish. The sounds were 
here heard in the presence of Margaretta Fox and Mrs. 
Fish. They were talked about, and elicited general 
attention, — got into the newspapers, and were imme- 
diately speculated upon in all parts of the Union. The 
third town in which the raps were heard was Auburn, 
N. Y. Catharine, the youngest daughter of Mr. Fox, 
visited this place, and the sounds were made at the 
houses she visited. In Rochester the raps have not 
been confined to the Fox family. Since the ' mani- 
festations' in Auburn, they have been communicated 
with in Greece, Monroe county, N. Y., in Sennett, 
Cayuga county, N. Y., in New York city, on Long 
Island, at Troy, N. Y., at Boston and Springfield, 
Mass., and a number of other towns and cities." 

Who can doubt, that the immediate cause of these 
phenomena was a physical one, a cause developed in 
the physical organisms of those individuals, in conse- 
quence of a residence in that particular locality ? 
Equally manifest is the fact, that that cause is identical 
with the Odylic Force, as developed in the cases above 
cited. How perfectly do the facts above given corre- 
spond with those connected with Frederica Hauffe and 
others, and how manifest is the identity of causation in 
these cases. 

2. The absolute identity of the physical phenomena 
of these two forces, as physical causes, presents, in their 
action upon surrounding objects, the most decisive 
proof of their identity. In both cases the rapping sounds 
have the same relations to the organism of individuals. 
The rapping and other sounds are precisely similar in 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 105 

their nature, and are frequently attended with the same 
jarring of surrounding objects, and each alike is occasion- 
ally attended with the same rumbling noises, as of the 
rolling of distant thunder. The same manifestations of 
an attractive and repulsive power between the physical 
organism and surrounding objects, appear in both cases. 
What facts can reveal an identity of causation, if these 
do not? We might, with the same propriety, affirm that 
each clap of thunder is occasioned by a new and before 
undeveloped force in nature, and that such phenomenon 
is proof of the fact, as to refer the two classes of phenome- 
na under consideration to different and opposite causes. 
3. A similar identity of effects upon the physical organ- 
ism on the one hand, and upon the mental powers, on 
the other, argues, with equal absoluteness, the perfect 
identity of these two causes. " Catalepsy, trance, clair- 
voyance, and various involuntary muscular, nervous, and 
mental activity in mediums," are among the effects 
enumerated by Mr. Ballou, as accompanying the action 
of this force in connection with the so called spirit mani- 
festations. Precisely similar phenomena mark the ac- 
tion of the Odylic Force, in all cases like those which 
we have enumerated. Every mental and physical phe- 
nomenon which characterizes the manifestations of the 
one power, is equally characteristic of those of the other. 
Is " speaking, writing, preaching, lecturing, philosophy- 
zing, prophesying, etc.," attendant on the action of this 
force, in one instance ? They are equally so in the other. 
The same holds equally true in all other instances. We 
have no right to reason at all, from phenomena to the 
nature of the substances to which they pertain, or to 
attempt to identify causes, by arguing their nature from 
their peculiar effects, if we may not infer the identity of 
the causes under consideration, from the phenomena 
which they everywhere exhibit. 



106 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

4. There is a peculiar effect which individuals often 
experience, on approaching mediums, on the one hand, 
and those who are under the influence of the Odylic 
Force, on the other, an effect which renders the iden- 
tity of the two forces under consideration undeniable. 
Those who approached Angelique Cottin, for example, 
were often affected with what they denominated an 
electric shock. Spiritualists themselves, in their own 
writings, often speak of having experienced in them- 
selves precisely similar effects, when approaching medi- 
ums, similar phenomena, also, occurring in the presence 
of those who are in a mesmeric state. It would be a 
violation of all the laws of science not to admit an iden- 
tity of cause, in the presence of effects bearing such un- 
deniable characteristics of absolute similarity. 

On this point we need not enlarge, as the proposition 
under consideration, we may safely assume, will not 
be disputed by intelligent spiritualists anywhere, it 
being, as far as our knowledge extends, admitted by 
them, that spirits produce these manifestations, if at all, 
by controlling this very force. 



THE IMMEDIATE CAUSE OP THESE MANIFESTATIONS IDENTI- 
CAL WITH THAT FROM WHICH RESULT ALL THE PHE- 
NOMENA OF MESMERISM AND CLAIRVOYANCE. 

We now advance to another very important proposi- 
tion. It is this : The immediate cause of these manifes- 
tations is identical, not only with the Odylic Force, on the 
one hand, but with that from ivhich the phenomena of 
mesmerism and clairvoyance result, on the other. The 
truth of this proposition is rendered undeniably evident 
from the following facts and considerations, the most if 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 107 

not all of which are proclaimed by spiritualists them- 
selves, in their own writings. 

1. Mesmeric subjects, and those who had become 
clairvoyants through mesmeric influence, have, to a very 
great extent, become mediums, and of all other persons, 
most readily become such. This is a fact which no one 
will deny. 

2. Mesmerizing and pathetizing are among the com- 
mon means proclaimed by spiritualists, of developing 
mediums. When individuals desire to render some 
persons in their circles mediums, persons who have been 
accustomed to be pathetized are first put into a mes- 
meric state, and then, as the persons thus affected sit 
with others around the table, they become mediums, 
thus showing that the two states are the results of the 
same force developed in different degrees. 

3. But a fact still more decisive of this question, is 
this : in these circles, as spiritualists themselves affirm, 
some individuals become mediums, while others, under 
precisely the same influence, not unfrequently become 
clairvoyant. Under the same cause, and in the same 
circumstances, the mesmeric phenomena on the one 
hand, and the so called spirit manifestations on the 
other, appear, thus indicating that the immediate cause 
of these two classes of phenomena are, in all instances, 
one and the same. 

4. Individuals who have had experience of the mes- 
meric force, recognize themselves at once as subject 
to the action of the same cause, when sitting in the 
" spirit " circles, the effects which they experience in 
both cases being so perfectly identical, that they feel 
that they cannot be mistaken in regard to the nature of 
the causes themselves. 

5. In approaching mesmeric subjects on the one hand, 



108 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

and mediums on the other, the same electric shocks are, 
as before observed, not unfrequently experienced, indi- 
cating that the two classes of individuals are charged 
with the same force. 

6. The perfect identity of the conditions of entering 
these two states, and of the disturbing causes common 
to both, present a very strong evidence of the perfect 
identity of the immediate causes of the two classes of 
phenomena. To enter the mesmeric state, on the one 
hand, and to become mediums, on the other, one and the 
same condition is requisite in both instances, namely, a 
state of mental passivity. It is a fact also equally well 
known, that no mesmerizer can pathetize his subject, 
when a strong mesmerizer is by, who internally resolves 
that that effect shall not be induced. It is a fact equally 
notorious and undeniable, that the same class of indi- 
viduals, when sitting in the spirit circles, can, by inter- 
nally and strongly willing it, and that when no one is 
aware of their mental states, render' it impossible for the 
circles to obtain any responses whatever. Who can 
doubt, in the presence of such facts, the absolute iden- 
tity of the immediate causes of these two classes of 
phenomena ? A very strong mesmerizer, for example, 
was once sitting in a spirit circle, by the side of an in- 
valid, who was there for the purpose of being operated 
upon by the spirits, for the restoration of her health. 
None of the usual effects produced upon her appeared, 
till this gentleman took hold of her hand, when the de- 
sired results appeared, and appeared with much greater 
power, the spiritualists present remarked, than they 
had ever witnessed before. The gentleman left the 
circle, and all the supposed spirit phenomena instantly 
disappeared. The cause of the effects which then ap- 
peared cannot be doubted. They differed, however, only 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 109 

in degree from what had been witnessed on previous 
occasions, showing that the same cause had been oper- 
ating in all instances alike. 



SECTION in. 

PRINCIPLES AND PACTS APPLIED TO THE ELUCIDATION OP 
THE SO CALLED SPIRIT PHENOMENA. 

We shall assume it, then, as an established and ad- 
mitted fact, that the immediate cause of the so called 
spirit manifestations is identical with that which pro- 
duces the phenomena of mesmerism and clairvoyance, 
and that this cause is none other than the Odylic Force. 
We believe that we are authorized to make this as- 
sumption, by evidence the validity of which will not be 
denied. We are now prepared to apply our facts and 
deductions to the elucidation of the mysterious phenom- 
ena, denominated the Spirit Manifestations. There 
are, among others that might be named, three conditions 
in which the Odylic Force is developed in the human 
organism, so as to induce certain abnormal physical and 
mental phenomena, — a residence for certain periods, 
on the part of individuals of a peculiar physical tempera- 
ment, in certain localities, — by manipulations and the 
various forms of pathetizing, — and finally by circles of 
individuals sitting together around tables or similar ob- 
jects. In the phenomena resulting from the action of 
this force in the first two relations, we have no evidence 
whatever of their occurrence through the interposition 
of disembodied spirits. On the other hand, we have 
the highest evidence, that these phenomena are the 
exclusive result of purely mundane physical causes. It 
is true that clairvoyants sometimes imagine themselves 

10 



110 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

to see and converse with spirits, and thereby to obtain 
revelations from them. We are not now discussing the 
question what clairvoyants see, but what is the cause 
of their perceptions ? Undeniably the spirits do not 
cause the perceptions of which they are themselves the 
objects. Such a supposition would be presuming too 
far upon our credulity. We deny, that such individ- 
uals do see spirits at all, and shall speak on this topic 
in full, in its proper place. We are not now speaking, 
however, of what the clairvoyant sees, but of the cause 
of the peculiar phenomena connected with the action 
of the Odylic Force, in the circumstances named. 
There is not, and no well informed and candid mind 
will assert the contrary, the least evidence, we repeat, 
that any of these phenomena, physical or mental, are 
caused by the interposition of disembodied spirits. On 
the other hand, we have all the evidence that we can 
have, in any case whatever, that these phenomena are 
the exclusive result of purely mundane causes and of 
nothing else. What shall we conclude of the phenom- 
ena attending the action of this force, in the circum- 
stances last named? Do we here find unmistakable 
evidence, that these manifestations are determined, in 
their essential characteristics, by the interpositions of 
disembodied spirits ? If so, it must be, because the 
facts occurring in those circumstances, are, in all their 
fundamental characteristics, totally dissimilar and un- 
analogous to those connected with the action of the 
same force, in the other relations, and of such a nature, 
that they can be accounted for, but by a reference to 
one specific cause, the interposition of disembodied 
spirits. 

Are Spiritualists prepared to meet the issue here 
raised ? Are they prepared to show, that the facts 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." Ill 

which they adduce, are wholly dissimilar and unanalo- 
gous, in all their essential characteristics, to any facts 
which are the exclusive results of mundane causes, and 
of this one cause in the two classes of circumstances 
above named ? We think not. As far as our knowl- 
edge extends, they have never looked at the subject in 
this, the only truly scientific, point of light. We affirm, 
without the fear of successful contradiction, that the 
entire circle of facts which they do adduce, or can in 
truth adduce, to sustain their theory, are, in all respects 
what we might suppose beforehand, from a careful 
induction of facts pertaining to the action of the Odylic 
Force, in circumstances where no ab extra spirit agency 
is supposable, they would be, if no such agency were con- 
cerned in their production. There is not a single valid 
fact which they do adduce which a philosopher, who 
had carefully investigated the properties of this force, 
might not have predicted, as resulting from it, in the 
spirit circles, were he informed, which is the fact, that, 
in those circles, this force should be strongly developed. 
If these very phenomena should not appear in these cir- 
cles, supposing that no disembodied spirits at all do ex- 
ist, their non-appearance would be an anomaly for which 
no account could be given. Develop this force where 
you will, in connection with the human organism, and 
these very phenomena must appear, and they must ap- 
pear as coming from spirits, among all those who hold 
the spirit theory, just as the responses obtained through 
Mademoiselle Elizabeth de Ranfaing came as from the 
devil, while those whose thoughts were reproduced in 
her, thought her the subject of diabolical possessions. 
We may take all the so called spirit phenomena physi- 
cal and mental, intelligent and unintelligent, and take 
them one by one, and we can present, in the first place, 



112 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

facts precisely similar resulting from the action of this 
force, when undeniably and totally unconnected with 
any ab extra spirit agency whatever, and then show that 
this one fact, instead of being anomalous, or unaccount- 
able in its nature, is just what might have been antici- 
pated in these very circumstances, from the known and 
immutable properties of the cause itself. We will now 
proceed to elucidate and verify the above statements, 
by a reference to the so called physical spirit manifesta- 
tions on the one hand, and to the intellectual on the 
other. 



PHYSICAL MANIFESTATIONS. 

As an example of the physical manifestations, we 
will adduce the following case, which is so well attested 
as to remove from all candid minds all rational doubt 
in regard to its actual occurrence. Among the sign- 
ers of this document which originally appeared in the 
Spring-field Republican, we have the names of such men 
as Prof. Wells of the Cambridge Laboratory, and other 
individuals of such character for intelligence and integ- 
rity, as to demand the credence of the public. The doc- 
ument is entitled, " The modern wonder — a manifesto." 

" The undersigned, from a sense of justice to the par- 
ties referred to, very cordially bear testimony to the oc- 
currence of the following facts, which we severally wit- 
nessed at the house of Rufus Elmer, in Springfield, on 
the evening of the fifth of April : — 

" 1. The table was moved in every possible direction, 
and with great force, when we could not perceive any 
cause of motion. 

" 2. It (the table) was forced against each one of us 
so powerfully as to remove as from our positions, to- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 113 

gether with the chairs we occupied, — in all, several 
feet. 

" 3. Mr. Wells and Mr. Edwards took hold of the 
table in such a manner as to exert their strength to the 
best advantage ; but found the invisible power, exer- 
cised in the opposite direction, to be quite equal to their 
utmost efforts. 

" 4. In two instances, at least, while the hands of all 
the members of the circle were placed on the top of the 
table, and while no visible power was employed to raise 
the table, or otherwise move it from its position, it was 
seen to rise clear of the floor, and to float in the almos' 
phere for several seconds, as if sustained by a denser me- 
dium than the air. 

" 5. Mr. Wells seated himself on the table, which was 
rocked to and fro with great violence ; and at length it 
poised itself on two legs, and remained in this position 
for some thirty seconds, when no other person was in con- 
tact with the table. 

" 6. Three persons, Messrs. Wells, Bliss, and Edwards, 
assumed positions on the table at the same time, and 
while thus seated the table was moved in various direc- 
tions. 

"7. Occasionally we were made conscious of the 
occurrence of a powerful shock, which produced a vibra- 
tory motion of the floor of the apartment. It seemed 
like the motion occasioned by distant thunder, or the 
firing of ordnance far away, — causing the tables, 
chairs, and other inanimate objects, and all of us, to 
tremble in such a manner that the effect was both seen 
and felt. 

" 8. In the whole exhibition, which was far more di- 
versified than the foregoing specification would indicate, 
we were constrained to admit that there was an almost 

10* 



114 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

constant manifestation of some intelligence which 
seemed, at least, to be independent of the circle. 

" 9. In conclusion, we may observe that D. D. Hume, 
the medium, frequently urged us to hold his hands and 
feet. During these occurrences the room was well 
lighted, the lamp was frequently placed on and under 
the table, and every possible opportunity was afforded 
us for the closest inspection, and we submit this one 
emphatic declaration : We know that we are not imposed 
upon nor deceived. 

David A. Wells, Wm. Bryant, 
B. K. Bliss, Wm. Edwards." 

To present the whole subject at one view, we now 
adduce the following extract from " Rogers' Philosophy 
of the Mysterious Rappings." The authority by which 
the occurrence of the facts stated is verified, is of such 
a character as to place those facts out of the circle of 
rational doubt. 

" The following, also, were developed at the house of 
Rev. Dr. Griswold, New York. Among the persons 
present were Mr. J. F. Cooper, George Bancroft, Rev. 
Dr. Haws, Dr. J. W. Francis, Dr. Marcy, Mr. N. P. 
Willis, William Bryant, Mr. Bigelow of the Evening" 
Post, Mr. R. B. Kimball, Mr. H. Tuckerman, and Gen- 
eral Lyman. 

" The mediums present were the members of the Fox 
family. 

" Only Mr. Cooper, Dr. Francis, and Mr. Tuckerman, 
seemed to come into close rapport with the psychological 
and nerve-centres of the mediums. The others, accord- 
ing to the account, could develop few or no intelligent 
characteristics, and could obtain a development of the 
physical force alone. Thus giving us a plain hint of 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 115 

the distinction we are to observe between the physical 
phenomena and the psychological characteristics which 
frequently accompany them. 

" The physical force stands alone as a physical force. 
It bears no characteristics in its action but that of itself, 
unless some other is made to impress its characteristics 
upon it, as the intelligent will do in the movement of 
the arm. But the physical force may move the arm 
without intelligence, as in spasms, etc. 

" The following peculiar physical phenomena were 
developed during -the evening : — 

" ' One little peculiarity, hitherto unremarked,* came 
to our notice. The questioner's seat (to give him access 
to paper and pencil) was on one side of the table ; and, 
chancing to occupy the place between him and the 
ladies (mediums), we [Mr. Willis] had accidentally 
thrown our arm over the back of his chair. "Whenever 
the knockings occurred, we observed that his chair was 
shaken, though our own intermediate chair and the two 
standing immediately behind were unmoved. We called 
attention to it, and it was corroborated by the other 
gentlemen. 

" ' With such heavy weight in the chair as Mr. Coop- 
er's or Dr. Francis', it would have taken a blow with a 
heavy hammer to have produced so much vibration.' 
The table was not moved, though requested. 

" An experiment was tried as to what would be the 
effect with one of the ladies alone, or with two without 
the third, or with a gentleman and one or two of the 
ladies. ' The strongest knockings were on the floor be- 
neath, when the widow and her two sisters stood any- 
where together. With two of them the knockings were 
fainter. We placed ourself between the widow and one 

* Taken from Willis' Home Journal. 



116 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

of the young ladies,' says Mr. Willis, ' and no sounds 
were produced as a consequence. With one of the 
mediums alone, there were no phenomena.' 

" These peculiar characteristics of the conditions are 
worthy of careful consideration. We have found sev- 
eral cases where no decided physical phenomena could 
be evolved without the presence of two persons, both in 
a palpable abnormal state, and we shall give one case, 
in a future chapter, where three clairvoyants were re- 
quired. 

" All such conditions clearly indicate the physical 
agency to belong to the physical organism. These 
characteristics will be considered in a more fitting 
place. We would simply direct attention to them 
here. The most important phenomena of this charac- 
ter, however, have not been sufficiently observed to de- 
velop their laws. 

" But to return. An experiment was tried of another 
kind, in this circle at Dr. Griswold's. Three gentlemen 
placed themselves on the outside of the door, and three 
on the inside, and watched it closely, when suddenly it 
was knocked with great violence, without any visible 
instrument. ' We witnessed this,' says Mr. Willis, 
i with one hand upon the panels ; and what can it be 
but the exercise of a power beyond any thing of which 
we have hitherto known the laws ? That it is subject 
to human control,' he continues, ' seems probable, for it 
acts at present in a certain obedience to human orders 
[not of the medium, however], and is most obedient to 
those who have used it longest.' 

" Mr. Ripley, of the Tribune, in speaking of the same 
sitting says : ' The ladies were at such a distance from 
the door as to lend no countenance to the idea that the 
sounds were produced by any direct communication 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 117 

with them.' — ' Other sounds were made which caused 
sensible vibrations of the sofa, and apparently coming 
from a thick hearth-rug before the fireplace, as well as 
from other quarters of the room.' " 

Rev. H. Snow, in his work entitled " Spirit Inter- 
course," gives an apparently well-authenticated case, in 
which a medium was himself " raised entirely from the 
floor, and held in a suspended position by the same kind 
of invisible power." For ourselves, we have no disposi- 
tion to question such a statement, knowing as we do, 
that cases perfectly similar and analogous are attested 
by evidence which we are compelled to regard as valid. 

That musical instruments have given forth musical 
sounds, in these circles, when no persons were touching 
such instruments, we also freely admit, and admit for 
the reason, that the facts of the case are affirmed by 
authority which we cannot, with the consciousness of 
moral integrity, call in question. A very intelligent 
Christian lady, an utter disbeliever in spiritualism, for 
example, told us, that in her presence, a guitar was once 
placed in the middle of the room, that when no one was 
within several feet of it, musical sounds proceeded from 
it ; that when she extended her hand toward it, it was 
instantly raised up and attracted to her hand, just as the 
appropriate objects are drawn towards the magnet, when 
it is placed near them, and that when she laid hold of 
the instrument, it was, by a force which she could not 
control, wrested from her hand, just as objects charged 
with electricity are wrested from our hands when we 
grasp them. Facts affirmed by such testimony, we 
regard ourselves as bound to admit. 

Such are the valid, physical facts which lie at the 
basis of spiritualism, and sustain its claims to our high 
regard. On these facts, we remark : — 



118 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

1. That we have the highest conceivable evidence, 
that the immediate cause of these phenomena, to say 
the least, is exclusively physical and mundane. This is 
undeniable, and will not, we are quite confident, be de- 
nied. 

2. There is not among all these phenomena a single 
fact, or characteristic of such fact, which demands, as 
the condition of its explanation, the supposition of the 
interposition of disembodied spirits, or presents the least 
positive evidence of such interposition. The reason is 
obvious. The identical force from which all these phe- 
nomena result, undeniably produces precisely the same 
phenomena, when not controlled by spirits at all. Are 
physical objects "moved" in the spirit circles "in every 
possible direction, and sometimes thrown against indi- 
viduals so powerfully as to move them from their posi- 
tions ? " The same phenomena attend the action of this 
same power, when undeniably uncontrolled by disem- 
bodied spirits. Are objects in the former relations raised 
from the floor, and suspended "in the atmosphere for 
several seconds, as if sustained by a denser medium than 
the air ? " So they are in the latter. Are individuals, 
in these circles, " made conscious of the occurrence of a 
powerful shock, which produces a vibratory motion of 
the floor, and of the apartment," a vibratory motion like 
that " occasioned by distant thunder, and the firing of 
ordnance far away ? " Precisely similar phenomena, as 
we have seen, attend the action of this same power in 
circumstances where it would be infinitely absurd to 
suppose, that the agency of disembodied spirits is at all 
concerned in their production. Do the facts which occur 
in these circles, the peculiar motions of bodies, the play- 
ing of tunes on musical instruments, when no person is 
touching them, etc., indicate the controlling influence of 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 119 

" some intelligence which seems, at least, to be indepen- 
dent of the circles ? " The same holds equally true of 
the action of this very force, in relations where no dis- 
embodied spirits can, with any show of reason, be sup- 
posed to control such action. So undeniably in all 
other instances. How astonishing that even educated 
minds should infer the interposition of spirits from the 
mere fact that mediums, as well as other objects, are 
sometimes, from no visible cause, lifted from the floor 
in these circles, when it is well known that by the same 
power, uncontrolled by spirits, individuals have been 
raised up in a similar manner, together with the beds 
on which they were reposing. Nothing conceivable can 
be more unphilosophical and absurd than the reference, 
as the only condition of their explanation, of the physi- 
cal phenomena occurring in their circles to the interpo- 
sition of disembodied spirits. 

3. In view of a careful induction and classification of 
all the phenomena resulting from the action of this 
force, in the two relations first named, the non-occur- 
rence of the entire mass of valid facts reported by spirit- 
ualists, as occurring in the spirit circles, would be a 
matter of far greater wonder, than their actual occur- 
rence, supposing no disembodied spirit had ever entered 
one of them. It would be far more necessary to sup- 
pose the agency of spirits to account for the absence, 
than for the presence of these facts in these circles. 
Wherever this force is strongly excited in connection 
with the human organism, and that in the presence of 
the mental states of those who constitute and visit 
these circles, it would be a miracle, if these or similar 
physical manifestations did not occur in them. A care- 
ful examination of the phenomena attending the action 
of this force in other circumstances, necessitates this 
conclusion. 



120 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

4. The wonderful things performed by mediums, are 
also performed by individuals who utterly repudiate the 
spirit theory, and are performed for the purpose of dis- 
proving that theory. Suppose that we put our hands 
upon a table, and call upon some spirit, or upon the 
spirits in general, to move the object, and it is moved 
accordingly. We call upon the spirits to give to the 
object a specific motion, and this, also, is performed. 
We again place our hands upon the same object, and 
without invoking the spirits, simply will that precisely 
the same effects shall follow, and they do follow, as be- 
fore. We then place our hands upon the table a third 
time, and having willed the occurrence of the same re- 
sults, we defy all the spirits who have been supposed to 
produce said results, to present their occurrence, and 
yet they occur, as before. These experiments are re- 
peated any number of times, with exactly the same 
results. How infinitely foolish and , absurd would it be 
in us to argue from such facts, that they are the result 
of the agency of disembodied spirits. Yet precisely 
such facts as these are occurring continuously in this 
country. What is performed in the spirit circles, is per- 
formed in other circles in which the whole doctrine of 
Spiritualism is utterly repudiated. Such circles exist 
in the city of Cleveland, and as we are credibly in- 
formed, elsewhere. We ourselves have witnessed the 
phenomena of table moving in such circles. Among 
these unbelievers, " movements (of tables and other ob- 
jects) occur as a response to a calling of the alphabet, 
for the purpose of spelling out messages from some in- 
visible presence," the very case cited by spiritualists as 
the highest proof of their theory, and such messages 
are spelled out, and from their character, the absence of 
spirit agency, in their production, is. inferred. We 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 121 

know whereof we affirm, when we make these state- 
ments. We met, for example, but a few days since, a 
clergyman of the Episcopal church, resident in this city, 
(not a pastor,) an individual whose intelligence or ve- 
racity will not be impeached, who informed us, that just 
such facts as those above stated had, for a long period, 
been occurring in his family, that he himself, in connec- 
tion with members of his family, could now produce 
them, and had produced them for the interest and enter- 
tainment of others, and that from the most careful obser- 
vation and experiment, and that contrary to his original 
expectation, he had come to the full conviction that 
spirits have nothing whatever to do with these manifes- 
tations, that what of intelligence appears in them, is the 
exclusive result of the unconscious control exercised over 
this mysterious force, by the minds in the circle, and not 
by spirits out of it. Such undeniably is the state of facts 
on this subject. Nothing can be more contrary to all 
the laws of correct reasoning than to argue from such 
facts the truth of spiritualism. It has not in them the 
shadow of a foundation. 

A few weeks since, we met with a clergyman of the 
Methodist denomination, a clergyman stationed over 
one of the churches in Cleveland, who informed us, 
that having, a short time previous, occasion to spend 
an evening with a circle of friends, he found them, on 
his entrance, conversing upon the theory of spirit mani- 
festations which we had just before presented to that 
community, and each was giving facts in illustration 
and confirmation of it. He then stated to the com- 
pany, that if they all, with one voice, repudiated 
wholly the doctrine of Spiritualism, and adopted that 
under consideration, and wished, as a mere matter of 
science, to witness, with him, a practical illustration 

11 



122 MODERN' MYSTERIES. 

of the truth of the theory they had all adopted, he 
would sit with them around a table, and they would 
see what manifestations could be obtained, without 
the presence of the spirits, unless they should intrude 
themselves unasked, and exert their power for the 
destruction of Spiritualism itself. The circle was 
formed accordingly, and shortly the table, one of con- 
siderable weight, began to move. It was soon found, 
;hat the direction of its motions was under the com- 
plete control of one or two individuals, who were 
manifestly more affected by the power developed than 
the rest. If they willed it to turn round, it would do 
so with great rapidity. At their bidding, it would 
stop, turn round in the opposite direction, stand upon 
one or two legs, and tip out, by the alphabet, intelli- 
gent answers to any questions put to it, the answers 
corresponding to the thoughts of individuals present. 
It was asked to give the age of this clergyman. A cer- 
tain number of motions up and down were made, and 
then they ceased. On inquiry, before the individual 
had answered the question, whether a right answer 
had been given, it was found, that the number desig- 
nated was the precise number previously fixed upon, 
by one or more of the controlling minds present, 
though it was wrong by some eight or ten years. 
Such were the manifestations obtained for the very 
purpose of proving Spiritualism false. Who can be- 
lieve that spirits would produce movements thus to 
disprove their own favorite system? We might ad- 
duce many other cases of a precisely similar character. 
We should be guilty of infinite folly, then, did we 
attribute such facts to the agency of disembodied 
spirits. 

5. We remark, finally, that no additional light 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIKITS." 123 

whatever is thrown upon these mysterious occurrences, 
by referring them to the agency of spirits out of the 
body. The occurrence of these events is, in no sense, 
made more intelligible than it was before, by such 
reference. If the force by which these phenomena arc 
produced has polarity, and consequently the power of 
attraction and repulsion, all the movements of tables, 
chairs, etc. — movements not indicating, by their 
direction, intelligent control — are accounted for, to- 
gether with all the antics and strange motions which 
they exhibit. If this force has not this quality, spirits 
cannot impart said quality to it, and their assumed 
presence and agency throw no light whatever upon 
these facts. As far as these movements accord with 
intelligence, if spirits control the action of this force, 
so as to produce these intelligent movements, they 
must do it by their thoughts, feelings, or acts of will. 
It is just as reasonable, and far more so, to suppose 
that this power is thus controlled by the thoughts, 
feelings, and determinations of the minds in the organ- 
isms in which it is developed and energizing, as by the 
mental states of disembodied spirits who may happen 
to be present, and who sustain no relations known to 
us to any powers in nature around us. When, for 
example, one of the Fox girls said to the mysterious 
power which was rapping on the walls of the room 
where the family was assembled, " Now do just as I do. 
Count one, two, thre.e, four, etc., striking one hand into 
the other at the same time," and that power " appeared 
to answer her by repeating every blow she made," it is 
far more reasonable to suppose that her thoughts and 
mental acts determined the action of that power, in 
that case, than to suppose that the thoughts and 
mental acts of some disembodied spirit did it. That 



124 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

this force was then developed in the organism of that 
individual, is undeniable, from the fact, that its pres- 
ence was manifested, in connection with that organism, 
when she went abroad. It is a known property, as we 
have already seen, of this power, when in certain rela- 
tions to mind, to be governed, in the direction of 
its activity, by the acts and states of that mind. How 
much more reasonable, then, to suppose, that the 
mental states of the individuals in whose organism 
this force is known to be developed, control and de- 
termine its action, when that action accords with intel- 
ligence, than to suppose that the same phenomena are 
produced by the mental states of spirits of whose 
locality we know nothing, and who, if present, sustain 
no relations, known to us, to this or any other power 
in nature around us. This power, if controlled by 
spirits, must possess the following characteristics : It 
must possess a very strong attractive and repulsive 
force, on the one hand, — and from its nature, such 
must be its relations to mind, on the other, that it is, 
when certain conditions are fulfilled, controlled in the 
direction of its activity, by mental states. Now, if this 
is the nature of this force, and for ourselves we 
believe that it is, then of all theories for accounting 
for mysterious facts, the so called spirit theory is the 
most unreasonable; it being infinitely more reasonable 
to suppose, that the mental states of the spirits in the 
organism in which this force is developed, control the 
direction of its activity, than that those of spirits out 
of those organisms do it. 

All the physical manifestations adduced by spiritual- 
ists to establish their theory, are undeniably accounted 
for, by a reference to known mandane causes. All their 
facts are paralleled by perfectly similar and analogous 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 125 

facts resulting from such causes. From the very power 
in nature, also, by which all their facts are, as they will 
admit, immediately produced, effects do in fact result, 
effects in all respects similar to those adduced by them, 
and that when that power is manifestly uncontrolled, 
in its action, by spirits out of the body. So far, then, 
spiritualism fails utterly to be sustained by the least 
shadow of positive valid evidence. 

Before leaving this department of our investigations, 
we will allude to what appears to us, as a very strange 
want of strictly logical and scientific deduction, in 
the reasonings of the most intelligent spiritualists, from 
their facts to their conclusions. To us, nothing is more 
manifest than the total want of logical consecutiveness, 
or connection in such cases. We will take as an illus- 
tration, a single fact adduced by Rev. H. Snow in the 
work to which we have already alluded : " The most 
remarkable instance of this kind," he says, " within the 
limits of my own experience, was the following. With 
myself sitting in a common chair, my feet being entirely 
off the floor, a large-sized light stand in front of me, 
with the medium's hands resting lightly on the top, — - 
the invisible power exerted was sufficient to shove me 
along some five or six feet, on a carpeted floor. This 
took place at the house of a friend, in the presence of 
several witnesses, among whom was a teacher of long 
established and excellent repute, who had never seen 
any thing of the kind before, and who expressed his 
astonishment in words like these, "Do you call that 
simple electricity ? you might as well say, that a mouse 
bores the Hoosac tunnel ! " Suppose we do not call it 
" simple electricity," or give it any particular name. 
In the name of reason and logic both, may we not ask, 
what evidence is there here of the presence and agency 

n* 



126 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

of disembodied spirits? Had our friend familiarized 
himself with the authentic facts recorded of Angelique 
Cottin and others, he would have known, that there is 
in nature a purely mandane cause from which, when 
undeniably not controlled by spirits, precisely similar 
and far more startling facts do arise. Yet, by just such 
facts, spiritualists expect to convince the world of the 
truth of their theory, and are astonished that all the 
world are not already convinced. For ourselves, till far 
different and higher evidence is adduced, we shall re- 
main among the stubborn unbelievers in that theory. 
Till other than purely mundane facts are adduced, we 
shall maintain our scientific and logical consistency, 
by denying the evidence of the presence and action 
of extra mundane causes. 



INTELLIGENT COMMUNICATIONS. 

We are now prepared for a consideration of those 
so called spirit manifestations on which, of course, the 
strongest reliance is placed, to establish the claims of 
spiritualism, to wit, intelligent communications, as from 
spirits, by means of rapping sounds, writing, speaking, 
etc. Before we can legitimately argue from such facts, 
the reality of which we freely grant, the truth of the 
spirit theory, or adduce them as presenting any form or 
degree of evidence even of its truth, it must be shown, 
as we have already said, and as none will deny, that 
such communications can, in fact, be obtained from no 
exclusively mundane causes, and from no other source 
but the specific one assigned, to wit, revelations from 
disembodied spirits. If precisely the same or similar 
communications can be obtained from minds in the 
body, and uncontrolled by spirits, then these same 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 127 

revelations can never, without a flagrant violation of all 
the principles of rational and scientific deduction, be 
adduced, as having any decisive bearing whatever in 
favor of this theory. 



THE THREE CLASSES OF MEDIUMS. 

Before proceeding to argue this question, a few re- 
marks are deemed requisite, pertaining to the manner in 
which these manifestations are produced, through the 
action of the force under consideration, as developed in 
different classes of mediums. In three important par- 
ticulars, there is a perfect agreement between us and 
spiritualists, as we suppose, on this subject, namely, that 
these manifestations are produced, directly and immedi- 
ately, through the instrumentality of this, or some kin- 
dred force existing in nature around us ; that this force 
is directed, in the production of the class of phenomena 
under consideration, by some intelligent cause ; and 
finally, that this controlling cause is the minds consti- 
tuting the circles, or disembodied spirits out of the circles. 
So far, and that for the most obvious and conclusive 
reasons, no difference of opinion obtains. But how, it 
may be asked, can the thoughts, feelings, and mental 
determinations of the minds constituting these circles, 
unconsciously, as must be the case in most instances, 
control this force, so as to produce these manifestations, 
and that through rapping sounds, writing, and speaking ? 
The mystery, it should be borne in mind, and here lies 
the grand mistake of spiritualists, is not at all removed, 
by supposing, that the same force is controlled, in the 
production of the same phenomena, by the thoughts, 
feelings, and mental determinations of disembodied 
spirits out of these circles, this being the only way in 



128 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

which such spirits ever control the action of this power, 
if they do it at all. Suppose that a given thought exists 
in a mind in a circle, and in that of a disembodied spirit 
out of it. That thought becomes embodied in one of 
these so called spirit communications. We affirm that 
it is much more reasonable to suppose, that the thought 
lying in the mind in the organism in which this force is 
developed, guided its action, in the production of this 
phenomenon, than to suppose that the same idea existing 
in the mind of a disembodied spirit out of the circle, and 
sustaining no known relations to any mundane cause 
whatever, guided the action of the same force, in the 
production of the same phenomenon. This statement 
we hold to be self-evidently true. 

Still a mystery hangs around the question pertaining 
to the manner in which mental states, whether pertain- 
ing to minds in the body or out of it, act upon this force, 
in the production of these phenomena.. In regard to this 
subject we would observe, that there are three distinct 
classes of mediums, through whom such communications 
are obtained — the rapping, writing, and speaking medi- 
ums. In the last two classes the action of this force is 
attended with convulsions, and very great agitation of the 
physical system. In the first, such phenomena very sel- 
dom, we believe, appear. The reason is obvious. In the 
first class, this force, owing to peculiarities of physical 
condition in the subject, passes off, when excited to a 
certain degree, to some odylic conductor, causing, when 
striking the object to which it passes, the rapping sounds 
under consideration. In the former cases, it remains in the 
physical organism as a disturbing force, and thus causes 
the convulsions referred to. As the direction of the action 
of this force, in the organisms of such persons, and that 
from its nature and relations to mind, accords with, and 



THE MISSION OF " TUB SPIRITS." 129 

is controlled by, the mental states of minds in odylio 
rapport with such mediums, the direction of their hands, 
or vocal organs, will be determined by such states, just 
as the mental states of the mesmerizer are reproduced in 
the minds of mesmeric subjects. So far the facts them- 
selves, and their manner of occurrence, perfectly accord 
with those which occur in the mesmeric relations, and 
no ab extra spirit agency is even apparently demanded, 
to account for the embodiment of any thought pre- 
existing in these circles, in communications thus given 
forth. So obvious is this accordance, that to us it has 
been a matter of surprise, that such phenomena have 
been referred to spirits out of these circles. 

The case of rapping mediums is not so obvious, at 
first thought, to say the least. A moment's reflection, 
however, will show that this class of phenomena are 
equally explicable with the others. The physical sys- 
tems of the individuals in these circles, may be com- 
pared to a galvanic battery which is continuously, but 
more especially on occasions of the least extra excite- 
ment, developing this force. As soon as it is developed 
to a certain degree, in the organism of the rapping 
medium, it passes off to some object near, a chair, 
table, the ceiling, or floor, as the case may be, and pro- 
duces, in passing into the object, the raps which have 
astonished the world so much. The presence of a par- 
ticular thought, in any mind, the putting of a question, 
any such occurrence is sufficient to occasion the excite- 
ment necessary to develop this force to the degree 
requisite to produce the raps, in the manner explained. 
An inquirer, for example, asks if a spirit is present that 
will communicate with him ? The putting of the 
question excites him, and through him the medium, 
sufficiently to develop the force to that degree that 



130 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

occasions the number of raps understood as implying 
an affirmative answer. He now asks the name of the 
spirit, his own mind being fixed upon some individual. 
As the letters of the alphabet are called, the moment 
the first letter of the name of that person is pro- 
nounced, the mind of the inquirer is sufficiently ex- 
cited to occasion, in the manner described, a rap. So 
also as each subsequent letter of that name is pro- 
nounced, till the whole is given. On principles pre- 
cisely similar, answers to questions proposed may be 
obtained. Suppose, on the other hand, that the in- 
quirer has no particular name in his mind. When the 
first letter of the name of a certain individual is pro- 
nounced, the law of unconscious association may pro- 
duce the excitement requisite to occasion the rap, and 
thus the name may be given. These suggestions, 
together with the fact most abundantly established, 
that this power acts in many important particulars in 
accordance with mental states, and is determined in 
the direction of its activity by the same, will, we think, 
satisfy the reader, as far as any inquiries may arise in 
his mind, in regard to the manner in which these 
rapping sounds are produced. 

We will now proceed to argue the question, whether 
we have evidence that disembodied spirits have any 
agency in the production of these intelligent communi- 
cations. On this subject, we would invite very special 
attention to the following considerations : — 

1. The identical communications which are obtained 
in these circles, can, without exception, be obtained in 
circumstances and relations in which there is the high- 
est evidence of the total absence of all ab extra spirit 
interposition. We enter a spirit circle in which we 
are total strangers, and where our visit was wholly un- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 131 

expected. We put our questions pertaining to every 
subject on which spirits are ever questioned there, and 
receive every form of answer which is ever reported, as 
coming from spirits. We then go into the presence of 
an individual rendered clairvoyant by mesmeric influ- 
ences, an individual to whom we sustain the precise 
relations above specified. We here put the identical 
questions we did before, and receive in return, the iden- 
tical communications which we then and there obtained. 
We then repeat the same experiment, with precisely the 
same results, in the presence of other individuals simi- 
larly related to us, — individuals rendered more perma- 
nently clairvoyant, by the influence of drugs, or a 
residence in certain localities, as in the case of Frederica 
Hauffe, or Mademoiselle Ranfaing. In the two in- 
stances last named, our communications are undenia- 
bly obtained in the total absence of the agency of 
disembodied spirits. If any individuals, to save the 
doctrine of spiritualism, should assert the contrary, he 
would not only be guilty of denying what the world 
know to be true, and he himself has hitherto admitted 
as self-evident, but would betray a degree of ignorance 
and moral obtuseness which would render him unwor- 
thy of being reasoned with at all. We may as rea- 
sonably affirm, that all our mental perceptions of every 
kind, are from spirits, and are caused exclusively by 
their interposition, as to affirm, that the mental percep- 
tions of clairvoyants are thus induced. Yet we obtain, 
through these individuals, all the responses, with all 
their peculiar characteristics, which are obtained, or can 
be obtained, through spirit mediums. Do we obtain 
intelligent communications through the latter ? So we 
do through the former. Do we obtain, through the lat- 
ter, correct responses to questions pertaining to subjects 



132 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

of which they are profoundly ignorant ? So we do 
through the former. Do we obtain, through the latter, 
responses to purely mental questions ? So we do through 
the former. De we, in some instances, through the lat- 
ter, obtain correct responses to inquiries pertaining to 
subjects of which ourselves, and all present, are ignorant? 
So we do through the former. Do our communica- 
tions, through the latter, come as from spirits ? So, by 
simply willing it, the same communications may come 
to us, through the former, as from spirits, the same 
spirits, too, invoked through the latter. There is not a 
single communication, or characteristic of any commu- 
nication, which is obtained, or can be obtained, through 
the mediums, which are not, and may not be obtained, 
through clairvoyants, when under the exclusive influence 
of purely mundane dauses, the identical causes by 
which all these so called spirit communications are im- 
mediately originated. How can the claims of spiritual- 
ism to be sustained, by an appeal to such communica- 
tions, communications perfectly identical with those 
which proceed from exclusively mundane causes ? The 
system falls to pieces upon its own fundamental facts. 
It has adduced, and can adduce not a solitary fact, 
physical or mental, whose occurrence and total charac- 
teristics may not be, and are not accounted for, by a 
reference to exclusively mundane causes. None but 
purely mundane facts are adduced. How can we argue 
from these, the presence and interposition of ab extra 
mundane causes ? Nothing can be more illogical than 
any such deductions. 

2. As we said of the physical manifestations, so we 
now affirm of those under consideration, nothing but 
precisely these or similar communications could have 
been anticipated, from a careful induction and classi- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 133 

fication of all the facts pertaining to the action of this 
force in relations and circumstances, where no spirit 
agency is to be supposed, the very force through which 
these manifestations are immediately induced. We 
have, in these circles, the same power operating, and 
operating upon and through individuals, in precisely 
similar relations to each other, as in clairvoyance. The 
circles are to the mediums, what the magnetizers and 
others in magnetic communication with the magnet- 
ized, are to such individuals. If similar phenomena 
were not developed in the spirit circles to what now 
appear, supposing no disembodied spirits were ever 
present in them, such a fact would be an anomaly in 
the history of the action of this force, when developed 
in the human organism ; a fact just as wonderful and 
unaccountable on any other supposition than some ab 
extra mundane agency to prevent their occurrence, as 
their occurrence now appears to those who are ignorant 
of the peculiar properties of this mysterious force in 
nature. Their non-occurrence in these circles would 
be a much higher proof of the presence and interposi- 
tion of spirits, than is their actual occurrence. 

3. The admissions of the most intelligent and influ- 
ential spiritualists, indeed of the whole sect, as far as 
our knowledge extends, next claim our attention, and 
claim it too, as having a fundamental bearing upon 
our present investigations, the admissions, that all 
these communications are more or less determined, in 
their characteristics, by the mediums themselves, — and 
that many of them are wholly caused, not at all by dis- 
embodied spirits, but by the mediums or by individuals 
in the spirit circles. " The medium," says Mr. Ballou, 
and we have yet to hear of the first spiritualist who 
dissents from this view, "is a sort of amanuensis, a 

12 



134 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

translator or interpreter of the spirit's leading ideas. 
In this character media will exhibit, in various de- 
grees, the defects of their own respective rhetoric." 
Again, he says, " It is amazing to see the unreason- 
ableness and pertinacity of our opponents. They have 
taken the ground that none of these manifestations, 
none of these communications are from departed spirits. 
"We have taken the position that some of them are from 
departed spirits, and others not" The italics are our 
author's. In another place still, we have the following 
very important statements : — 

" I am now to treat of cases under Class Second ; 
i. e. ' those in which some of the important demon- 
strations were probably caused or greatly affected, by 
wwdeparted spirits.' I mean by wwdeparted spirits, 
persons in the flesh who by their will or psychological 
power, control the agency which gives forth sounds, 
motions, etc. I refer not to impostors, playing off 
counterfeits. I am treating of phenomena caused by 
mental power alone, coacting with the mysterious 
agency under consideration. 

" I have cases such as the following: — 

" 1. In which the bias, prejudice, predilection, or will 
of the medium evidently governed and characterized 
the demonstrations. In these cases the answers given 
to questions, the doctrines taught, and the peculiar 
leanings of communications spelled out, were so obvi- 
ously fashioned by the medium's own mind, as to 
leave no doubt of the fact. 

" In absolute confirmation of this, questions have 
been written out and presented to the medium, with a 
request that the answers should, if possible, be given 
thus and so. And they were given by raps accordingly. 
I myself gave questions in this way to a certain me- 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 135 

diura, and found that answers could be obtained in the 
affirmative or negative, or in fiat contradiction to pre- 
vious answers, if the medium would but agree to ivill it. 
At the same time, I made myself certain that this medium 
could not procure the rapping agency at will. It came, 
stayed, and went as it would ; and in that respect was 
uncontrollable. But when it chanced to be present, it 
could be overruled, biased, and perverted more or less 
by the medium. 

"2. In other cases there has been an overruling 
psychological influence exerted by some powerful mind 
or minds present in the room with the medium. In 
such cases this powerful influence, with or without the 
consciousness of the medium, has elicited answers just 
such as had been wished or willed by the managing 
mind. And these answers have alternately contra- 
dicted each other in the plainest manner, during the 
same half hour's demonstration. 

" In one instance a strong-willed man resolved to 
reverse certain disagreeable predictions frequently 
repeated through two tipping media who often sat in 
conjunction. The result was, he could overrule one 
of them sitting alone, and get a response to suit him- 
self. But both of them together overmatched his 
psychological powers. I might give names, places, and 
dates and details in this connection ; but it is unneces- 
sary. There can be no reasonable doubt of the facts 
just stated. It may be set down as certain that there 
are cases wherein some of the important demonstra- 
tions are caused or greatly affected by zmdeparted 
spirits. How far influences of this sort extend and 
characterize spirit manifestations, remains to be ascer- 
tained. We can positively identify them in many cases. 

" In some, they are known to the parties concerned and 



136 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

acknowledged to have been consciously and intention- 
ally exerted. In others they may be justly suspected, 
where no consciousness of them is felt by the medium, 
or by any dominant mind." 

" I do not, of course, mean," says Rev. H. Snow, " that 
I believe in all the claims that have been advanced, of 
this character ; on the contrary, I am of opinion that 
much which purports to come from unseen beings does 
in reality come, either partly or wholly, from minds in 
the body." 

If the validity of the above admissions and state- 
ments were denied, undeniable facts affirming their 
validity are so multitudinous, and decisive in their bear- 
ing, as to induce the most unwavering conviction in all 
candid minds. So conscious do mediums become of 
the control which they can exercise over the action of 
this force, when developed, that they no doubt often 
direct its action for the purpose of deceiving the circles 
in which they are holding forth. We will give, in illus- 
tration, a fact which occurred some years since, when a 
medium was entertaining circles in Cleveland, at the 
house of the distinguished spiritualist, Joel Tiffany, 
Esq. We do not hold him responsible at all for the 
acts of the medium. The case was this. A gentleman, 
a member of the bar in that city, on his first introduc- 
tion to the spirit circles, was strongly inclined, to say 
the least, to embrace, in full, the doctrine of Spiritualism, 
so inexplicable, on any other theory, did the undeniable 
facts presented appear. Subsequently, however, he be- 
came fully convinced, that while the rappings were a 
reality, and no imposition, the force which produced 
them was, sometimes consciously, but more generally 
unconsciously, controlled by spirits in and not out of 
the body. He, accordingly, having gained the confi- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 137 

dence of the medium, one of the best that ever ap- 
peared among us, united with her in deceiving tempo- 
rarily, for his own amusement, some of his friends, who 
visited these circles. On one occasion, he remarked to 
those present, that none of the tests which they had 
applied were, or ought to be, fully satisfactory ; because 
that, in all instances, they had to depend upon the tes- 
timony of individuals, in regard to the question, whether 
their inquiries were or were not correctly answered. 
He would propose a test about which there could 
be no mistake, and of the character of which they could 
all alike judge for themselves. He would retire from 
the circle, and write down seven questions, and having 
returned, he would put them in succession mentally, no 
one, as they could all testify, seeing the paper but him- 
self. The answers, as rapped out, they should take 
down, and when completed, he would read each ques- 
tion in order, and they should read the answer, and see 
for themselves how they corresponded, each to each. 
Seven questions were accordingly written out, and put 
as suggested, and seven answers were rapped out. 
When compared it was found, that each question had 
been specifically and correctly answered. We will give 
three of them as examples of the rest, namely, the first 
two, and the last." Question. How many days are 
there in a week ? Ans. Seven. Q,ues. Who performs 
these wonders? (This was put in Latin.) Ans. The 
spirits. Ques. What do the spirits think of any in this 
circle who are not now convinced? Ans. If an angel 
from heaven should speak to them, they would not be- 
lieve." All who understood not the facts as they were, 
were astounded and convinced, of course. The gentle- 
man subsequently informed his wondering friends, that 
he had, prior to that meeting, put all those answers in 

12* 



138 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

writing into the hands of the medium, informing her, that 
corresponding questions would be put in tne form stated, 
and that she must prepare herself accordingly. The 
answers, as he affirms, were given, word for word, as he 
wrote them. The spelling, however, was hers, she being 
a poor speller. Yet the rappings, he further adds, were 
no imposition, and remain to this day, to his mind, a 
deep mystery. The deception lay exclusively, in per- 
suading the persons present, that spirits out of the cir- 
cle, and not the minds in it, controlled the action of the 
force by which the answers were given forth. 

In this case, no one can doubt, that the cause of the 
manifestations, was exclusively mundane. The fact, 
then, that many of these communications are wholly 
from the minds in the circles, and in no form from 
spirits out of them, is not only admitted by spiritual- 
ists, but is too manifest to be doubted or denied, for a 
single moment. Now these facts and admissions are 
far more sweeping in their necessary consequences, than 
spiritualists appear to have ever imagined. All evi- 
dence of the truth of their theory, derived from all their 
several classes of facts but the last, the fact, that events 
are sometimes correctly reported in these circles, events 
of which all present were previously ignorant, is utterly 
annihilated. If one thought existing in these circles 
may become embodied in these communications, with- 
out the agency of disembodied spirits, any other and 
all others may be. If one question, whether put ver- 
bally or mentally, pertaining to any subject of which 
the inquirer, or any one present is informed, may be 
correctly answered, without the interposition of spirits, 
any other such question may be thus answered, and all 
evidence of the truth of Spiritualism, derived from such 
communications, is utterly annihilated. Yet upon pre- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 139 

cisely such facts, the claims of this theory have hitherto 
been mainly based. We obtain, in these circles, it is 
argued, intelligent communications, thus evincing the 
fact, that they originate from an intelligent cause. 
Responses are obtained to questions pertaining to sub- 
jects about which the mediums and all present, but the in- 
quirers, were profoundly ignorant. Purely mental ques- 
tions, also, are thus answered. All this is freely granted. 
We must bear in mind, however, that answers to pre- 
cisely such questions, every class of them, are obtained, 
in the total absence of any control or agency of disem- 
bodied spirits ; a fact so undeniable, that even spiritual- 
ists universally admit it. How can the truth of that 
theory, then, be argued from such communications? 
The entire evidence of its truth derived from any one 
of these classes of facts, or from all of them together, 
is utterly annihilated. All its claims, all the hopes of 
its abettors to sustain it, hang exclusively upon one 
solitary class, the simple fact, that in some instances, 
correct responses are obtained to inquiries, where the 
true answer was not previously known to any persons 
in the circles, at the time when the meeting commenced. 
When we shall have accounted satisfactorily for this 
one class of facts, we shall utterly have annihilated all 
the evidence of every friend of the truth of spiritualism. 
To a careful consideration of this class, we will now 
advance. All that we have to do, to gain our point, is 
to prove that there are existing and operating in these 
circles, purely mundane causes from which, without the 
interposition of disembodied spirits, this new informa- 
tion may have been brought into the circles, and thus 
have been embodied in the responses referred to. On 
this point, we have occasion to call attention merely to 
the following decisive considerations. 



140 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

1. There are known to be present, and in active exer- 
cise, in these circles, three forms of mental activity, 
which are abundantly sufficient to account for this 
entire class of facts, on the supposition that disem- 
bodied spirits have no connection with them whatever, 
namely, the Imagination, the principle of Conjecture or 
Guessing, and Clairvoyance. A question is proposed 
in one of these circles. The attention of every one is 
consequently fixed upon it, with the curiosity of all 
intensely excited. Each individual, of course, forms in 
his own mind, through the action of the imagination, 
some conception of what the answer should be, and 
among the many possible answers which should be 
given, he will almost of necessity conjecture or guess that 
some specific one is true. This act of the imagination 
on the one hand, or the conjecture on the other, becomes 
embodied in the response rapped, written, or spoken out 
through the medium. In some instances, of course, and 
the case could not be otherwise, when the guessing 
principle and the imagination are continuously, in my- 
riads of circles, occasioning responses of this kind, the 
answer given forth will be right, and the perfect coinci- 
dence between it and the state of facts a matter of sur- 
prise. Now suppose, which is true and notoriously so 
among spiritualists the world Qver, that all wrong 
answers are set aside as of no account, while every re- 
sponse which happens to be true is set down as certain 
proof of this theory. "We should, in that case, find in the 
works with which the community is being flooded from 
the spirit presses the same wonderful facts adduced in 
favor of the claims of spiritualism that we now have. 
Now we record it as our solemn conviction, and we 
speak advisedly in what we utter, that there is not one 
in a hundred of the well authenticated cases of this 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 141 

kind that has ever occurred in these circles that cannot 
be accounted for on the principles under consideration, 
and that would not be just what it is, supposing spirits 
to have no connection whatever with these communica- 
tions. Then to account for the very few facts which 
perhaps should not be referred to these principles, we 
need only refer to what is known and affirmed by 
spiritualists themselves to be true, the occasional occur- 
rence of states of clairvoyance in these circles. Sup- 
pose that when a question is put, the medium, or some 
other individual, is in a state clairvoyance, and happens, 
at the instant, to come into rapport with the real facts 
inquired after. The perceptions thus obtained would, 
of course, be embodied in the response given forth, and 
thus, without the interposition of spirits, we should have 
the wonderful revelations which are now being spread 
before the world as coming from spirits, and as proof 
of their presence and interposition. All this might 
occur, and the clairvoyant not be distinctly conscious of 
what had happened, just as individuals, as spiritualists 
themselves admit, often produce responses when hon- 
estly supposing that spirits do it. Now, on the supposi- 
tion that no disembodied spirit was ever present in any 
of these circles, we could not fail to have, from the 
action of the three causes under consideration, all the 
wonderful revelations, just as they occur, which spiritual- 
ists are holding before the public mind as proof of their 
theory. We have no occasion to refer to an ab extra 
spirit agency to account for any real revelation that has 
ever been given forth in any circle in the wide world, 
and consequently nothing can be more absurd than such 
reference. Facts which could not but occur, with all 
their peculiarities as they are, if no disembodied spirits 
were present, cannot, without a flagrant violation of all 



142 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the laws of scientific and common sense procedure, be 
adduced as proof of their presence and agency. No 
other facts ever have been or can be adduced in favor of 
the claims of spiritualism. 

2. These revelations bear all possible characteristics 
of an origination from the very causes to which we have 
referred them, and none which they would bear, did they 
come from spirits, and especially from the spirits to 
whom they are referred. Did they originate from these 
three causes exclusively, then the responses pertaining 
to subjects of which all in the circles were ignorant, 
would be, in instances very " few and far between," right, 
and strikingly so, and in all others, wrong. Now this 
undeniably is the precise character of all these professed 
spirit revelations pertaining to such subjects. If, on the 
other hand, they came from intelligent spirits, good or 
bad, who did not wish to stand revealed to the world as 
superlative liars and deceivers, we should find, what we 
do not now find, that these responses are generally, to 
say the least, correct, and only in instances " few and 
far between," wrong. Spirits of common prudence, such 
as is possessed by men in the flesh, and not utterly reck- 
less of their character for truth and veracity, would be 
exceedingly careful about the answers which they should 
give forth to such inquiries. On no other principle could 
they distinguish their responses from those originating 
from the causes above named, and thus give evidence 
of their own agency in these revelations. Yet these so 
called, par excellence, spirit revelations have none of the 
characteristics which they certainly would have, did they 
come from spirits, and all and none others, that they 
would have, did they originate from the causes to which 
we have assigned them. The validity of these state- 
ments cannot be shaken, and spiritualists, we think, will 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 143 

not attempt to do it. Yet here lies an immovable rock, 
namely, facts which cannot be denied, upon which this 
system must fall to pieces. Their facts, the only facts 
on which they can rely, are just such as would not come 
from spirits good or bad, and just such as could not but 
originate from the very mundane causes to which we 
have assigned them. 

3. The very principle on which the entire claims of 
spiritualism rest, would, if its validity were admitted, 
affirm with equal absoluteness, the most false and ab- 
surd claims of the grossest impostors that ever existed. 
A devoted spiritualist, for example, made an inquiry in 
a spirit circle, in reference to a subject of which he was 
ignorant, and wished to be informed, and accompanied 
the inquiry with this statement : " If the answer obtained 
turns out to be wrong, it will not shake my confidence 
in spiritualism itself, in the least." A very influential 
and devoted spiritualist, in conversation with us, some 
months since, referred to certain startling predictions 
which " the spirits " had just uttered in regard to the 
affairs of Europe, predictions which were to be fulfilled 
by the middle of February last, predictions not one of 
which has been verified, but all proved false. The ref- 
erence was accompanied with this remark : If these pre- 
dictions turn out to be true, very well, if not, they go for 
nothing. This is the precise principle everywhere as- 
sumed by spiritualists, in arguing for the truth of their 
theory, and in doing so, they sell themselves to be de- 
ceived. Take a case in illustration. A friend of ours, 
a clergyman, when on the way to visit a family belong- 
ing to his congregation, some time since, forecast in his 
own mind whom of the family, and whom of the neigh- 
bors, he should find in the parlor, on his arrival, and 
where each should be seated, etc. On his arrival, he 



144 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

found that these foreimaginings were, in almost every 
particular, correct. Suppose, now, that he had wished 
to impose himself upon his people as a divinely in- 
spired prophet ; that for this end, he should begin to give 
public utterance to numberless foreshadowings of a 
similar kind, one in a hundred or a thousand of which 
could not, of course, fail to be true; that he had also oc- 
casional revelations by means of clairvoyance, and that 
these should be mingled with the other professed reve- 
lations ; and that his people should receive every predic- 
tion and utterance which happened to be fulfilled as a 
proof of his assumed claims, while, by universal consent, 
they should pass by all false ones as having no bearings, 
one way or the other, upon the subject. Who does not 
see, that such an individual, through such a principle, 
would soon stand revealed to the people as a divinely 
inspired and authorized prophet, with as high claims as 
Isaiah or Elijah, and with an authority as absolute as 
Jesus Christ, though he were one of the darkest impostors 
that ever existed? No other result could arise from 
such a principle of judging, and upon this very principle 
exclusively, the entire claims of spiritualism are based. 
Predictions and communications which happen to be 
true, are trumpeted through the world as demonstrating 
its claims, while the hundred or thousand false ones, to 
one that turns out to be true, are dropped, as having no 
bearing either way. Were they to present to the world 
a true record of the false responses continuously given 
forth, in their own circles, with the true ones standing 
here and there in their midst, solitary and alone, the 
world would turn in utter disgust from the spectacle, 
and spiritualists themselves would blush with shame, 
to intimate a spirit origin for such monstrosities. 

4. The information not communicated, as contrasted 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 145 

with what is, in these professed revelations, presents 
another undoubted indication of the non-spirit origin of 
these communications. According to the fundamental 
teachings of " the spirits," if such are the intelligences 
responding to our inquiries, in these communications, 
we are all continuously surrounded with guardian 
spirits, who deeply sympathize with us in our joys and 
sorrows, our pleasures and sufferings mental and phys- 
ical, and who are able to communicate to us, as they 
choose, through these mediums, any information which 
they may possess, and which might alleviate our sor- 
rows or increase our joys, by being communicated to 
us. Now, if these communications do proceed from 
this source, such, we may safely conclude would be 
their character, and we should find, by experience, that 
here is an available and reliable source of information, 
on such subjects. Now, this is the precise kind of 
information which cannot be obtained through " the 
spirits." As a source of information, it is not an 
available one, on the one hand, nor a reliable one, on 
the other. Hundreds of thousands of families and 
individuals in England and France, for example, had 
their husbands, sons, brothers, and endeared relations 
in the Crimea, and were under the most agonizing 
apprehensions, of course, in regard to their condition, 
and that while all individual communications were for 
long periods suspended. In the greatest agony of appre- 
hension, wives, parents, brothers, sisters, and " nearer 
and dearer ones," have rushed to the spirit circles, and 
entreated " the spirits " to relieve that agony, by giving 
the information desired. What an opportunity was 
here presented, in which " the spirits," in the presence 
of the world, could, by manifesting their sympathy 
with human suffering, and revealing themselves as reli- 

13 



146 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

able informants on subjects of vital importance, have 
established the claims of spiritualism immovably in the 
high regard of mankind. "What an opportunity, also, 
to reveal themselves to the heart of grateful nations, as 
being really and truly what their apostles affirm them 
to be, the guardian spirits of humanity. But no. To 
all appeals made to their compassion by agonizing 
sufferers, they stood revealed, exclusively, as " dumb 
dogs," from whom no responses could be obtained. 
This ominous silence indicates a total ignorance of 
what guardian spirits ought to have known, or a most 
barbarous, if not fiendish indifference and callousness 
to human suffering. All the world are aware of the 
living death which Lady Franklin has been enduring 
these many years, and how deeply the great heart of 
England and of Christendom has sympathized with 
her mental agony. Why have not her guardian spirits 
sped to those northern regions and brought back the 
intelligence which would relieve that mind from that 
heart-sickness which arises from " hope deferred ? " 
Why has not the spirit of the lost one, if alma lux, the 
light of life, has departed, winged his way to the suf- 
ferer at home, and revealed his fate to her ? Why, to 
say the least, did not some of his, or of his associates' 
guardian spirits fly to her with the information which 
she so much desired ? It would seem, that they must 
have got fast frozen up in some of those ice mountains, 
or that they must carry hearts of ice in their bosoms. 
Where was the spirit, or guardian spirits of Emma 
Moore, or those of her agonized friends, that from none 
of them, were tidings brought to those friends dur- 
ing the interval between the time of her disappear- 
ance and the discovery of her body, of her untimely 
end ? When the fell seducer, as a stealthy boa con- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 147 

strictor, is following the footsteps of unsuspecting inno- 
cence, why do not these guardian spirits who can read 
even the secret thoughts and purposes of men, reveal 
to the intended victim the terrible perils which encircle 
her ? Why have they not rendered themselves a " ter- 
ror to evil-doers," by unmasking their dark designs, 
when they have had such myriads of avenues to the 
public mind ? — avenues through which such infor- 
mation would be most gladly communicated? " The 
spirits " appear to have no hearts for such forms of 
well-doing as these. As informants of facts to us un- 
known, their revelations bear very different and opposite 
characteristics. Let us consider a few of them, 

An individual who has a husband in California, who 
has learned, by experience, that it is not only not good 
for man, but for woman also " to be alone," and who, 
in her loneliness, has come so far within the attractive 
influence of one who is not her husband, as to make " a 
local habitation and a name " with him an object of 
strong desire, enters a spirit circle, and is there accost- 
ed, very unexpectedly, it is affirmed, by the spirit of 
her husband, from whom she had failed to obtain infor- 
mation at the time expected. With the tenderest 
expressions of affection, he informs her that he is no 
longer in the body, but an inhabitant of the " spirit 
land." There was one thing, and only one, requisite 
to the completion of his happiness there — her imme- 
diate union, in marriage, with the individual above 
referred to. The ceremony must be performed the 
very next evening — we think that was the time — at 
such an hour, and in such a room, which was to be 
darkened, where he would be present, and himself as a 
rapping revelator, preside over and conduct the exer- 
cises. Of course the mourning widow was not " diso- 



148 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

bedient to the heavenly vision," and the desired union 
was consummated accordingly. After the lapse of a 
few weeks, however, a letter arrived from the California 
husband, bearing date some days subsequent to the 
ceremony in the dark room. So strong was the sym- 
pathy of " the spirits " for human woe, in this instance, 
that they were willing to become reckless liars for its 
relief. New but false information was here conveyed. 
Such are some of the credibly reported doings and 
new revelations of the spirits in the State of Ohio. 

In another instance, a husband went to California 
under the belief, as his friends affirm, of infidelity to 
him, on the part of his wife, who subsequently, in 
appearance, as they further affirm, drawn by a new 
attachment, was making efforts to obtain a divorce 
from " her liege lord." But while the law was " dragging 
its slow length along," behind the " hot haste " of hu- 
man desire, the spirit of that husband addressed the 
wife, through a medium, in a spirit circle, and informed 
her, that she was now " loosed from the law of her hus- 
band," " and would not be an adulteress, though she 
should be married to another man." Subsequent intel- 
ligence confirmed, in this case, the revelation of the 
spirits, though there are yet among his friends doubters 
of the fact of the death of the individual referred to. 
This is one among the cases on which the claims of 
spiritualism are based. 

The spirit of a certain lad is affirmed to have told, 
some time after his death, where a pen-knife which he 
had lost, while living, might be found, and it was found 
accordingly. In two public debates held at Cleveland, 
at an interval of several years from each other, that 
fact was adduced by the same speaker, one of the lead- 
ing spiritualists in the country, and introduced in both 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 149 

instances as one of the main pillars of his " high argu- 
ment." 

The following wondrous facts, we take from the 
Spiritual Telegraph, the leading organ of the sect in the 
city of New York. We give the statements as quoted 
from that paper, in the Evening Post, with the intro- 
ductory remarks of the editor of the latter paper. 

" The believers in rappings and communications 
from the ' land of spirits ' are increasing in this city. 
Private families, in circles of from six to a dozen per- 
sons, nightly indulge in the ' grave amusement.' A 
regular organization meets every Sunday at Dodworth's 
Hall, in Broadway, next to Grace Church, where any 
one is allowed to give his views on the subject. 

" Conferences are also held during the day and 
evening each week at the head-quarters of the spiritual- 
ists in Broadway, near Prince street. At the assemblies 
many ' tough yarns ' are told. The Spiritual Telegraph, 
the organ of the 'faith' in this city, gives us some 
samples of recent occurrence. It says : — 

" ' A gentleman from New Haven related the follow- 
ing : A Mr. Fairfield, a medium, was some weeks ago 
sent from Springfield, Mass., to the house of a Mr. 
Barnes, another medium, in Fairhaven, (a village near 
New Haven,) Conn. He knew not the purpose of his 
mission, and when he got to the house of Mr. Barnes, 
found he had not money enough left in his purse to 
pay his fare home. On the evening of the same day 
he and Mr. Barnes were both simultaneously entranced, 
when they put on their overcoats and went out. Our 
informant, who was present, followed them. They 
went up the road some distance and stopped, when 
Mr. Barnes began to scratch in the snow, which was 
about three inches deep, as if in search for something. 

13* 



150 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

" ' Presently He grasped something in his hand, and 
they both returned to the house, "where, on opening his 
hand to the light, it was found to contain two quarter 
eagles, which, in obedience to the spiritual impulse, 
were divided equally between the two mediums. They 
went out again, our informant following them as be- 
fore ; and when they came directly in front of a certain 
church, they began to grope in the snow again, and 
digging out a board which had been covered up, they 
threw it aside. They then commenced a search where 
the board had lain ; as the hand of one of them was 
passing to a particular spot, the narrator distinctly saw 
a small object lying there, which on being picked up 
proved to be a silver coin — a quarter of a dollar, if we 
remember. 

" ' They then went and scratched in the snow and 
dirt on the steps of the Odd Fellows' hall, and found 
another coin.' " 

There is a medium in the State of Ohio, of whom it 
is affirmed, in illustration of the new things revealed by 
" the spirits," that at times, when under their inspiration, 
he will walk for miles with his eyes shut, passing, in 
the mean time, over fences and through forests, till he 
arrives at a particular place, when he will order, in the 
name of " the spirits," those who have accompanied him 
to dig down at a certain spot which he designates. 
They do so, and find at length, some dry bones, an 
Indian hatchet, and other pieces of old iron of equal 
value. A very intelligent spiritualist told us, that he 
had been present, and witnessed these very wonders. 

Such are " the spirits," as informants of facts which 
we do not know. We do not affirm, that no higher facts 
are ever revealed in these communications. These, 
however, are fair examples of what we do obtain, spirit- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 151 

ualists themselves giving the record. If these revela- 
tions are from disembodied spirits, judging from what 
they do and what they do not reveal, we affirm, with- 
out fear of contradiction, that they are, almost without 
exception, beings of the most debased morality, and 
demented intelligence, and that to regard such com- 
munications as coming from the inhabitants of the 
immortal spheres, tends to produce nothing in us, but 
corresponding debasement and dementation. 

5. Before closing our remarks on the class of facts now 
under consideration, we should make the following un- 
deniable statement in regard to them, a statement which 
has a very important and decisive bearing upon the 
question of their origin. The statement is this. Most 
of the cases of this kind reported to the public have, 
and are found, on careful inquiry, to have either no 
foundation in fact, or to be characterized by very great 
exaggerations, while the well authenticated cases are 
very few, much fewer than we should expect from the 
myriads of sources from which these manifestations pro- 
ceed, even supposing them not to be given forth by dis- 
embodied spirits at all. In listening to the popular 
lecturers on spiritualism, we find, as they approach this 
class of facts, that they uniformly begin, by telling their 
hearers that they could spend the whole night in relat- 
ing cases which they themselves have witnessed person- 
ally, and then out will come the old pen knife story, 
and other hackneyed facts of a similar character. How 
few are the cases related by Mr. Ballou, and other great 
defenders of this new faith, and how far do they have 
to travel to collect even these. To us, after having in- 
vestigated the nature of the power by which these mani- 
festations are produced, there is but one matter of sur- 
prise, namely, that this class of manifestations are not, 



152 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

in the spirit circles, of more frequent occurrence than 
they are. 

SECTION IV. 

THIRD PROPOSITION ESTABLISHED, NAMELY, THAT WE HAVE 
POSITIVE AND CONCLUSIVE EVIDENCE THAT THESE MANI- 
FESTATIONS ARE THE EXCLUSIVE RESULT OF MUXDANE 
CAUSES, AND NOT OF THE AGENCY OF DISEMBODIED 
SPIRITS. 

We believe that we have now fully established our 
first two propositions, namely, that there are, in the 
world around us, purely mundane causes, from which 
phenomena, in all respects similar and analogous to 
those adduced by spiritualists, do arise, — and that these 
so called spirit manifestations occur in circumstances in 
which these very causes are known to be present and in 
efficient action, and that consequently we have no oc- 
casion to go beyond these causes to account for these 
manifestations, in their entireness. We have thus ut- 
terly annihilated all positive evidence that from develop- 
ments hitherto made, any thing can be adduced in favor 
of spiritualism As far as any claims to an ab extra spirit 
origin are concerned, it stands before us, as an " airy 
nothing," without a "local habitation or a name." 
Our third proposition yet remains to be established, 
namely, that from these exclusively mundane causes, and 
not from the agency of disembodied spirits, these manifes- 
tations do in fact proceed. When we shall have estab- 
lished this proposition, we shall have proved spiritualism 
to be exclusively, as far as its claims to a spirit origin 
are concerned, a system of error and delusion. This we 
now propose to do. It may be important in this con- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 153 

nection to remind the reader of the precise points of 
agreement and difference between ourselves and spiritu- 
alists, on this subject. On all hands it is agreed, 1. That 
the immediate cause of these manifestations is some 
force, by whatever name it may be called, a force exist- 
ing in the world around us ; 2. That this force is con- 
trolled, in the production of these phenomena, by some 
intelligent cause or causes; and 3. That this control- 
ling cause is the minds in the circles, or disembodied 
spirits out of the same. A difference of opinion ob- 
tains only in regard to the location of this controlling 
cause. "We maintain that this force, in the produc- 
tion of these communications, is controlled either con- 
sciously or unconsciously, for the most part, without 
doubt, unconsciously, by the minds constituting these 
circles. Spiritualists, on the other hand, maintain that 
it is controlled by disembodied spirits out of these cir- 
cles. Here only do we differ, as far as the question at 
issue, in this department of our inquiries, is concerned. 
We will now proceed to adduce the evidence in favor of 
the former hypothesis and against the latter. The facts 
and arguments which we have to present, may be 
ranged together under the following classes : — 

1. All the laws of scientific deduction require us, in 
view of the propositions already established, to regard 
as true the hypothesis which we maintain, and the oppo- 
site one as false. Whenever any portion of a given 
class of facts are shown and admitted to result from a 
given cause, it is always assumed as positive proof, that 
the facts remaining are produced by the same cause, 
unless the most absolute evidence to the contrary is ad- 
duced. Especially is this the case, when it has been 
shown that by a reference to this one cause, all the 
facts alike can be readily and adequately accounted for. 



154 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

In our preceding discussions, it has been proved, (1.) 
That some of these manifestations are produced exclu- 
sively by the minds in the circles, and not by spirits 
out of them, and (2.) that this one cause, in the circum- 
stances supposed, is all that is requisite to account for 
all these manifestations. It would, therefore, be a vio- 
lation of all the laws of scientific deduction, to" attribute 
any of these phenomena to any other cause. This con- 
clusion is undeniable. 

2. The great fact that we next adduce is, in our 
judgment, of the most absolutely decisive character 
conceivable, the undeniable fact, that no new truths or 
principles are found in these communications.* They 
come to us as affirmed revelations from the highest 
minds, among others, in the immortal spheres. Yet 
they are, in fact, no revelations at all. They are, on the 
other hand, a mere chaos of truth and error, with which 
the world was familiar before. We, hazard nothing 
in affirming, that amid all these manifestations there 
is not a solitary new truth, or new fundamental principle 
pertaining to the universe of matter or spirit, although 
" the spirits " present themselves as most benevolent, 
self-sacrificing, and indispensably needed guides in refer- 
ence to both. They come to free men from error, and 
to " guide them into all truth," and then they simply 
reaffirm all forms of mere human opinions in reference 
to this world and the next, and that without revealing 
to us a solitary new truth, or presenting us with a soli- 
tary new principle by which we can distinguish truth 
from error. They come to enlarge the sphere of human 
science and discovery, and then, as far as they assert 

* We here distinguish, of course, between mere information per- 
taining to matters-of-fact, and important truths and principles. It ia 
to the latter that we now refer. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 155 

any thing that is true, simply follow iniquis paribus, in 
the track of human research and discovery. If there is 
any thing that we can know a priori of such minds as 
Francis Bacon, if they should, after dwelling for cen- 
turies amid the illuminations of eternity, descend to earth, 
as our guides and teachers, it is this, that they would 
not only impart to us new truths, but higher and more 
perfect forms of thinking than those with which all the 
world are perfectly familiar. Especially may we affirm, 
with absolute certainty, that such minds, instead of giv- 
ing utterance to such truths and such thoughts, would 
not retail, as forms of the highest wisdom, the senseless 
gossip of every-day thinking among men. How self- 
evident is the truth of the saying of the forerunner of 
Christ : " he that is of the earth is earthly, and speaketh 
of the earth : he that cometh from heaven is above all." 
Now we have, in the spirit manifestations, the professed 
teachings of the very class of heaven descended minds 
referred to ; and what have we in these revelations ? 
All possible characteristics of an origin purely and 
exclusively earthly and nothing else. We should, there- 
fore, be guilty of the highest folly should we attribute 
them to any higher origin. Since the mission of " the 
spirits " commenced, great advance has been made in 
scientific research and discovery, in respect to very im- 
portant principles and facts pertaining to the earth and 
the heavens, and that in reference to realities about 
which " the spirits " have largely discoursed, and about 
which it is absurd to suppose those who are affirmed to 
have come from heaven to teach us, were ignorant. 
Yet they never have anticipated the advance of human 
research and discovery, but have very tamely followed 
it. The Poughkeepsie Seer, after being reminded of 
the fact, that many new planets had been discovered, 



156 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

since his " divine revelations " were given forth, revela- 
tions in which he affirmed himself about to reveal every 
" visible and invisible existence," was asked why it was 
that he had not anticipated the march of human dis- 
covery, by announcing beforehand the existence and 
location of these planets ? The prophet was silent of 
course. We put the same question in reference to " the 
spirits." If they are from heaven, why have they not 
anticipated the march of scientific research and dis- 
covery, which they professedly come to perfect and 
hasten ? The reason and the only reason is, that these 
revelations are mere human thoughts unconsciously re- 
affirmed by spirits in the body, and not what they are 
by some thought to be, revelations from spirits out of 
the body. The great and undeniable fact before us 
admits of no other explanation. 

It remains with spiritualists to deny the statements 
above made, and to prove them false, by adducing the 
truths and principles whose reality is denied, or to ac- 
count for the facts affirmed and in that case admitted, 
consistently with the claims of their theory. The 
former we are quite sure they will not attempt to do ; 
the latter we know absolutely is an impossibility. 
Whatever inexplicable facts may be connected with 
these manifestations, the total absence of any new truths 
or principles, and the undeniable presence in them of 
mere preexisting human opinions only, renders demon- 
strably evident their exclusively mundane origin. It is 
the height of folly to refer mere mundane facts to extra- 
mundane causes. A greater absurdity cannot be con- 
ceived of than to suppose' that the great minds from 
the upper spheres have descended to earth, here to retail 
as new and eternal verities,old and hackneyed thoughts 
with which mankind have been familiar for ages. 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIEITS." 157 

3. Another fact equally decisive of the question of 
the origin of these manifestations, is this. The opinions 
and sentiments revealed in them, uniformly take form 
from, and correspond with, those peculiar to the particular 
circles in which they originate. In China, " the spirits " 
— for they have spirit circles there — are all followers 
of Confucius. In Siam, they are equally devoted 
Buddhists. In Hindostan, they are worshippers of 
Juggernaut. In Christendom, they are Catholic or 
Protestant, Christian or Infidel, Churchmen or Dis- 
senters, Orthodox and Heterodox, of all opinions and 
no opinions, just according to the peculiar complexion 
of the circles in which they appear. This is true, not 
only of different classes of spirits, but equally of the 
same identical spirits. Take any spirit that can be 
named, and introduce him into each circle on earth in 
succession, and he will affirm, as only true, the pecu- 
liarities of opinion existing in each circle, and as posi- 
tively deny every opposite opinion, though he has, for 
thousands of times, asserted its truth before. This he 
will do, with the most unblushing effrontery, boldly 
denying, in every circle, that he has ever, since he 
entered the spirit land, changed his opinions, or at any 
time, or in any place, contradicted his present teachings. 
There is not a solitary form or shade of human belief, 
the denial of the existence of spirits excepted — a form 
of belief held by Christian, Turk, or Infidel — which 
has not been absolutely affirmed and denied by the 
same authority. " The spirits," and the same individ- 
uals among them too, take all sides of every ques- 
tion, just as occasion requires, advocating, in succession, 
the peculiar doctrines of each circle that chances or 
chooses to call upon them. We have our orthodox 
circles, in which all the peculiarities of the evangelical 

14 



158 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

faith are solemnly affirmed, without contradiction, by 
every spirit that appears among them. There is one 
such circle, at the present time, in the city of Cleveland, 
and in this circle, we have all the physical and mental 
manifestations that can be obtained anywhere else. 
In the town of Madison, Geauga county, Ohio, during 
the progress of a revival of religion, the minister be- 
came a spiritualist. He found a medium of the same 
faith with himself. A perfectly orthodox circle was 
thus formed, into which the oldest and strongest Uni- 
versalists and Infidels were introduced, and as from 
their own children, relatives, and friends, were assured, 
that their sentiments were all wrong, and that under 
their influence they were descending, with infallible 
certainty, to the gulf of eternal death. The spirit of a 
Deacon Branch, who, for many years, had lived in the 
place, and had died there in the esteem and confidence 
of all, appeared in the circle. Between him and these 
unbelievers, the most solemn communications, to the 
following import, passed : — Tell us, Deacon Branch, is 
what is affirmed in the Bible and by Christians, of 
heaven and hell, true ? It is. Is hell as terrible a 
place as it is represented to be ? Far more so. What 
must we do to escape it? You must "repent and 
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ." In that circle, 
" the spirits " affirmed absolutely, that all communica- 
tions of an opposite character, which had ever been 
given forth in any spirit circles, were exclusively from 
" the father of lies " and his agents, and were given 
forth for the fell purpose of deceiving men to their 
eternal ruin. Yet in no circle in the wide world, has 
there ever been given more conclusive evidence of the 
presence and teachings of disembodied spirits. A friend 
of ours, for example, entered that circle in company 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 159 

with his wife. They had buried two children, in 
different towns, in another State, and were perfectly- 
certain, that none present but themselves knew any 
thing of those children. Yet their names, one or both 
having double names, the places of their birth and 
burial, their ages, even to the specific number of years, 
months, weeks, and days, etc., were given forth with 
perfect correctness. At length " the spirits " found, in 
this place, another medium of different and opposite 
sentiments, and round her formed a circle of corre- 
sponding character. In this circle, they unitedly affirmed, 
the spirit of Deacon Branch among the rest, that no 
spirits at all had, at any time, made any communica- 
tions whatever in the orthodox circle. Deacon Branch, 
however, immediately reappeared in the circle last 
named, and solemnly affirmed, in a communication to 
his own son, in whose house the sceptical circle was 
meeting at the time referred to, that he had had no con- 
nection at all with the communication whicn had thus 
been sent forth from the latter circle, as from him. 
Such is the state of facts the world over. In the infidel 
and kindred circles, the spirits of orthodox ministers 
appear, and with expressions of the deepest regret, ab- 
jure their earthly teachings and ministrations. In the 
few orthodox circles, and we could multiply them by 
thousands and tens of thousands, yes, we could fill the 
world with spirit voices if we chose, — Infidels and 
Universalists of every grade, as from the world of 
despair, affirm every article of the orthodox faith, and 
abjure their own earthly opinions, as being nothing else 
than " the doctrines of devils." Now what evidence can 
be conceived of more conclusive of the truth of any 
proposition, than is here presented of the exclusive 
mundane origin of these communications, in the two 



160 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

undeniable facts before us, namely, that in these commu- 
nications none but mundane opinions appear, and that 
the former vary as the latter vary ? No questions per- 
taining to this world or the next can be settled, by any 
evidence whatever, if this question is not settled by 
the evidence before us. 

4. We now present, as confirmatory of the views 
which we hold on this subject, a class of apparent ex- 
ceptions to the facts above adduced. It is true, that the 
answers obtained do not always correspond with the sen- 
timents of those who make inquiry, nor with those of 
the majority of the persons present, on any given occa- 
sion, though this is generally the case. An individual, 
as stated in an extract given above from the work of 
Mr. Ballou, wished to have certain disagreeable com- 
munications which he had obtained, when two mediums 
were present, reversed. He could have his wish, when 
one of them was absent, but not when both were 
present. " He could," in the language of the author, 
" overrule one of them, sitting alone, and get a response 
to suit himself. But both of them together overmatched 
his psychological powers." As is the prevailing psycho- 
logical power, for the moment, such will be the character 
of the responses obtained ; and this power, at times, 
may be with the mass in the circle, in opposition to that 
exerted by individuals, as in the orthodox circle above 
referred to where sceptics were making inquiries ; and 
in some occasional instances, owing to peculiar coinci- 
dences, it may be with individuals, in opposition to 
the sentiments of the majority. A medium, for exam- 
ple, on one occasion was, in a circle in Leroy, N. Y., — 
a circle which had met to obtain communications 
through her, and which was constituted almost, if not 
quite, exclusively of sceptics. As the so called spirit 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 161 

influence came upon her, this solemn affirmation came 
out, as from the spirits, " Ye must be bom again." All 
were astounded, and none more so than the medium. 
Yet during the entire evening, nothing could be obtained 
from " the spirits," whatever questions were asked, and 
many were, but this one sentence, " Ye must be born 
again." How shall this fact be accounted for? The 
answer is plain. The medium was of orthodox senti- 
ments, and had just come from another meeting, in 
which this and kindred truths had been very deeply 
fixed in her thoughts. This would account for the ex- 
pression of that truth, in the first instance. Then its 
sudden and unexpected appearance in the circle would 
fix all minds most intently upon it, so intently, that no 
other thought could find an expression during that 
sitting. Just such facts as these would occasionally 
occur in these circles, if our theory were true, and 
would not occur, if that of Spiritualism was true. 
Such exceptions therefore confirm instead of contra- 
dicting the conclusion deduced from the important facts 
included in the last two classes above presented. 

5. There is still another characteristic of many of 
these revelations which renders demonstrably evident 
the fact, that they cannot come from the spirits to whom 
they are referred ; and if they do not come from these, 
we are bound to suppose that they do not come from 
any spirits at all, and thus discredit the whole theory of 
spirit manifestations. We have professed revelations 
from minds such as Bacon, who have been progressing 
for centuries in light and knowledge, amid the revela- 
tions of eternity. We have also the recorded ideas of 
the same minds upon the same themes, while they were 
in the body. We have then here a fair opportunity to 
compare their present and past mental condition and 

14* 



162 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

capacities. What is the conclusion to which any in- 
telligent and candid mind must come, as the result of 
such careful comparison? It is this and no other — 
that if it is really and truly the author of the great 
Organon who is speaking in the work given forth as 
from him and other kindred spirits, by Judge Edmonds 
and his associates, that mind cannot but be in a state 
of absolute and hopeless idiocy, before it has been 
among " the spirits " for two centuries longer. We 
made this remark some time since to a very intelligent 
lawyer who had publicly defended, and that with great 
ability, the doctrine of the spirit manifestations, and 
who had read with much interest the work referred to. 
" I must admit," his reply was, " that you are right 
there ; " and no intelligent man who is acquainted with 
the writings of Bacon, can come to any other conclu- 
sion. The posterity of that man, if any exist, ought to 
be able to obtain heavy damages in a suit for slander 
against these individuals, for attributing such thoughts 
to their great ancestor. We hazard little in affirming, 
that it is about as reasonable to suppose, that Michael 
the archangel is the author of the celebrated work en- 
titled, " The house that Jack built," and that this is the 
highest production that he could originate, as to sup- 
pose that it is the spirit of the immortal Bacon that is 
communicating in the senseless production referred to. 
So, in other instances, we have seen essays from the 
spirit of the great Franklin, on electricity, essays given 
forth through the best of mediums, and which have all the 
evidence that he is their author, that any of these revela- 
tions do that they come from any spirits at all ; essays 
commencing very much like the composition of a cer- 
tain tyro on perseverance, namely, " Perseverance is the 
best thing that ever happened to man,". and bearing 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 163 

throughout marks of corresponding perfection of thought 
and style. One thing is undeniable to an intelligent 
and unprejudiced mind, in regard to these manifesta- 
tions, that " the spirits " are not speaking in them at all, 
or that their progression is altogether towards idiocy, 
and nowhere else. For ourselves, we do not believe 
that this is the direction of progress with them. We 
therefore draw the only possible conclusion consistent 
with that belief, namely, that it is the spirits of the liv- 
ing and not of the dead that are here in reality speak- 
ing to us. 

6. The general character of these communications, 
considered in a mere intellectual point of view, in com- 
parison with the productions of minds in the body, pre- 
cludes wholly the supposition, that they are from disem- 
bodied spirits. Communications coming from the high 
spheres above, we cannot but know, as we have already 
observed, would move upon a level altogether above the 
highest forms of thinking among men in the flesh. We 
cannot but be mentally and morally degraded ourselves, 
to entertain any other ideas of a future state. Suppose 
that we have masses and floods of communications 
professedly descending to us from those high spheres, 
communications which, while they contain nothing new, 
not only never rise above the higher forms of mundane 
thinking, but almost, if not quite, invariably fall incom- 
parably below them, very seldom, indeed, rising above 
mere commonplace, and more frequently embodying 
the most senseless puerilities conceivable. What higher 
evidence can we have of an exclusively mundane origin, 
than is thus presented ? When we will consent to receive 
such forms of thinking as from spirits, spirits, too, from 
the higher celestial spheres, as these are generally affirmed 
to come, we consent to our own mental and moral deg- 



164 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

radation, and voluntarily subject ourselves to influences 
of all others most efficient to produce that result. We 
will cite a few passages, as examples of " spirit wis- 
dom." Our citations are exclusively from books adver- 
tised in the Spiritual Telegraph of New York, as among 
the standard spiritual productions which are kept for 
sale at that office, books embraced in the catalogue, to 
all of which the " reader's attention is particularly in- 
vited." In a communication of upwards of forty pages 
from George Washington, a communication contained 
in a book entitled, " Love and Wisdom from the Spirit 
World," we find the following important announcement. 
u . If men were governed by love, truth, wisdom, and har- 
mony, then they would be under one grand, universal 
government of peace and harmony." No one can fail, 
we think, to understand the important principle here 
affirmed by the father of our country, and it is certainly 
just as true as the momentous proposition, that an 
oyster is an oyster. Further on we are told, that in 
order that mankind may " become acquainted with the 
natural and spiritual laws which govern their own 
being," knowledge requisite to " enjoy peace, harmony, 
and happiness," " it is necessary that they obtain light 
on these important subjects." The meaning of the last 
part of the following sentence is not to us quite so plain 
as the foregoing. " These glorious realities," the bless- 
ings of one universal brotherhood among men, " cannot 
be enjoyed until there is a general reformation in all 
governments, laws, institutions, and modes of teaching 
the generation together with the present." At the head 
of the address, presenting throughout corresponding per- 
fection of thought and style, we have a likeness of the 
author, a likeness at the bottom of which we find a 
scrap of poetry made by Washington himself, as we 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 165 

are given to understand, for the express purpose of 
accompanying that likeness. The poetry reads as fol- 
laws : — 

" When the likeness of this portrait you see, 
Remember that it is to represent the likeness of me, 
But the spirit in its brightness you cannot see, 
For that is far above the likeness of thee. 

G. Washington." 

The likeness of Franklin, which stands, in the book 
above named, at the head of a long essay from him on 
" Progression of the mineral, vegetable, animal, and 
spiritual kingdoms," is also accompanied by the fol- 
lowing lines, composed by that great mind, in his 
" angel's home." 

" The likeness of this portrait is to represent 
The likeness of man when he dwelt here below, 
But the likeness of the spirit you would like to know, 
And this would be no more than I would like to show ; 
But the mind is not prepared the likeness for to see 
Of the spirit in his angel's home as bright as we. 

B. Franklin." 

" The elevated spirits " communicating in this book, 
affirm, we are told, that they " impressed every word 
and sentence " found in it upon the medium's mind 
before it was written. We have then here, it would 
seem, an infallible criterion by which we can judge of 
the progression of these minds in " love and wisdom " 
during their residence in the celestial spheres. From 
another work, entitled " Light from the Spirit World," 
we take the following specimens of spirit thinking 
and composition. An essay on Wisdom commences 
thus : — 

" Wisdom is what is wise, and what is wise is wis- 
dom. Wisdom is not folly, and folly is not wisdom. 



166 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

Wisdom is not selfishness, and selfishness is not wis- 
dom. Wisdom is not evil, and evil is not wisdom." 
Again, " Wisdom is wisdom. All is not wisdom. All 
is not folly." Further on we are told that if we would 
get wisdom, those of us who have it not, we must " get 
it where it is to be found." For ourselves, much as 
we value this priceless treasure, we feel very little 
inclined to resort to "the spirits" to get it, though 
we can obtain from them the great truth that, " Men 
are what they are," together with the momentous 
information that, " Change is alteration," and although 
they assure us, that they come to us, "in wisdom 
which is from heaven," "with glad tidings on their 
tongues, with the rainbow of promise over their heads, 
with the cup of salvation in their hands, with the wine 
of consolation to the mourner, and the balm of heal- 
ing to the sorrow-stricken and the despondent." We 
must give one additional quotation. The essay " On 
Works " thus commences : " Works are the doings 
of a worker. Indolence is not work. Industry is work. 
Industry, accompanied with wisdom, works a wise 
work. Wisdom works wisely, and the works of wis- 
dom are not works of vanity." The medium through 
whom these great thoughts are communicated to us, 
assures us, that "the spirits" express themselves, after 
reviewing what they have here communicated, well 
satisfied with their work. In a work entitled, " Dis- 
courses from the Spirit World, dictated by Steven 
Olin, through Rev. It. P. Wilson, writing medium," 
we have the following somewhat original definition 
of the phrase, " the kingdom of God : " — 

" By the phrase, ' kingdom of God,' is meant, 1. The 
most internal essence, or the love, wisdom, and will 
principles. 2. The subordinate principles of expansion, 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 167 

attraction, and circulation. 3. The agencies of heat, 
light, and electricity. These principles and agencies 
constitute the realm of this kingdom, with reference to 
its internal nature and relations." So much for the 
theological lore of " the spirits," for their wondrous in- 
sight into the secrets of spiritual wisdom and knowledge. 
We shall not multiply quotations further. "We con- 
tend, that what we have presented is not an unfair rep- 
resentation of the real wisdom of "the spirits." For 
ourselves, we have searched in vain among these com- 
munications, and we have examined the works com- 
mended to our regard, by the best informed spiritualists 
in the country, as among the fundamental and standard 
spirit productions ; we have searched in vain, we say, 
among all these productions, for a new or a great 
thought. We have found, almost without exception, 
forms of thinking far below those which appear in the 
ordinary productions of men in the flesh, and which do 
not shock all our hallowed sentiments, and debase all 
our conceptions, in regard to immortality, when re-< 
ceived as from spirits inhabiting the celestial spheres. 
A friend of ours, Hon. George Bradburn, as he has af- 
firmed before the public, has read upwards of six thou- 
sand pages of these productions, and has turned from 
them with the identical impressions above stated. They 
have absolutely none of the characteristics which we 
cannot but know they would have, did they come to us 
from spirits standing amid the high revelations of eter- 
nity. On the other hand, they have all the marks, and 
none others, of an origin purely and exclusively mun- 
dane. For example : 1. None but mundane thoughts are 
here embodied, thoughts which vary in their forms with 
the opinions of the circles in which they originate. 
2. These communications present the precise kinds of 



168 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

thinking which we know would proceed from the sur- 
face of minds in the very passive and unthinking state 
in which mediums affirm themselves to be, when they 
suppose themselves under the inspiration of the spirits, 
and which can proceed from no other source. We find 
just such thoughts as these in these communications, 
and little else. 3. All the peculiarities of style, and 
manner, which characterize the mediums, and those who 
are around them, when communicating, are embodied 
in these communications. No spirit, from any sphere, 
can spell correctly, speak grammatically, or utter any 
thing but senseless puerilities, when communicating 
through certain mediums. 4. We find all the peculiari- 
ties of sentiment, forms of expression, and mere igno- 
rance of the mediums and spirit circles reflected in these 
productions. We find, for example, in a communica- 
tion given forth as from the spirits, through Mrs. Fish, 
when in Cleveland, such expressions as the following: 
" Go, sit under the teachings of that orthodox D. D., 
who says that all these rappings and other physical 
manifestations are humbugs," etc. Again : " This con- 
clusion that all these spiritual manifestations are a hum- 
bug, because spirit cannot have power to make such 
manifestations, strikes their own pretended faith flat in 
the face." There is one fact which has struck our 
minds with peculiar interest, in reading these works. 
Whenever the inquirer asks questions of the spirits, 
pertaining to subjects which real spirits must be ac- 
quainted with, but of which he is ignorant, and about 
which he is perplexed, we always find, that the spirits 
here responding not only do not know any thing more 
than he does, but that his ignorance and perplexity are 
reflected in the responses which he obtains ; thus indi- 
cating most decisively, that the inquirer, and he only, 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 169 

is answering his own questions. The following we 
give, as examples, from Rev. H. Snow's work, entitled, 
" Spirit Intercourse." 

" Can you give any idea of the manner in which 
spirits converse ? 

" You had better not attempt to penetrate so deeply 
into our affairs, for it can be of no use to you. There 
is, However, with us a common and universal method 
of holding intercourse, but of which you can form no 
just idea until you are permitted to make use of it. 

"Are there any evil-disposed or mischievous spirits 
that have it in their power to approach and communi- 
cate with us ? 

" You cannot fully understand what you wish to 
know upon this subject either. It is not in our power 
to enlighten you much in this respect. 

" Can it be explained, without implying deception on 
the part of spirits, how great men are said to be present, 
and to communicate, when what is communicated 
shows plainly that the great men are not present ? 

" You must not think that we can give you all the 
satisfaction you wish on this point. It may be said, 
however, that it is not necessary to suppose deception, 
as there are other ways of accounting for such facts. 
You cannot understand the matter fully," etc. 

Thus it is, that every peculiarity in the state of the 
inquirer's mind, is perfectly reflected back upon him, in 
the responses which he obtains. If he understands, is 
ignorant of, or perplexed about the subject about which 
he inquires, his own knowledge, ignorance, or perplexity, 
and nothing else, will be presented in the answer ob- 
tained. 5. Finally, how great soever the number, and 
diverse the character and relations of spirits which com- 
municate through one and the same medium, the style 

15 



170 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

of each will be one and the same, with that of all the 
others, thus showing that they are the product of one, 
and not of many minds. What perfect identity of 
style, for example, characterizes the various productions 
of different minds, professedly communicating their 
thoughts to the world, in the two volumes published by 
Judge Edmonds. We must repudiate all the laws of 
criticism, and ignore the entire dictates of common 
sense, before we can admit that different minds are here v 
communicating. So, in regard to all of these works. 
The same spirits, communicating through different me- 
diums, are wholly unlike themselves, in style and man- 
ner, and forms of thinking. All minds, on the other 
hand, communicating through the same channel, present 
a perfect unity, in these respects. 

There is an apparent exception to the above state- 
ments, an exception which, instead of contradicting, 
really and truly confirms the principle which we have 
assumed. When the medium, or some one present, 
knows the style of the individual whose spirit is pro- 
fessedly communicating, such style will sometimes be 
in some degree copied, though almost without excep- 
tion, very imperfectly. So also when an imaginary 
character is communicating, such as a news-boy, forms 
of expression which that class of persons are known to 
use, will sometimes be embodied in the communica- 
tions obtained. In all other cases, we believe, and we 
think we cannot be mistaken, the principle under con- 
sideration fully obtains. No one spirit has any thing 
like a fixed style by which he can be identified, as he 
appears in different circles and communicates through 
different mediums. All spirits, on the other hand, with 
the exceptions above named, when communicating 
in the same circles, and through the same mediums, 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 171 

have a perfect identity of style ; a style, too, which 
varies as the character of the circles and mediums 
varies. We noticed, for example, some weeks since, 
several communications purporting to have come from 
the spirits of Messrs. Webster, Calhoun, Clay, and oth- 
ers, communications obtained through one of the Miss 
Foxes in the city of New York, and in a circle consti- 
tuted of such men as the Hon. J. E,. Giddings. Mr. 
Calhoun is affirmed to have announced his own pres- 
ence in an elliptical style peculiar to himself, namely, 
" I 'm with you," and this was assumed as proof posi- 
tive of his actual presence. It was forgotten that some 
persons present knew well what were his peculiarities 
in such forms of expression. As soon as he and the 
others began to make formal communications, how- 
ever, all peculiarities of their earthly style and manner 
disappeared at once, and all adopted one and the same 
style, a style too utterly unlike, and infinitely beneath 
what was so peculiar to each when in the body. Now, 
if such facts as these do not prove the exclusively 
mundane origin of these communications, we may weli 
ask, what can be established by evidence ? We cannot 
have higher evidence, when standing before a mirror, 
that it is our own image that we see reflected there, and 
that our presence is the cause of that reflection, than we 
have, in such facts as these, that these communications 
are nothing but the reflections of the thoughts of the 
mediums, and of the persons constituting these circles, 
and are caused by those thoughts, and not by those of 
spirits out of the circles. The time is not distant when 
the only sentiment of mystery connected with these 
manifestations will be, that in this country, in the 
middle of the nineteenth century, the belief could have 
obtained among any intelligent portion of the commu- 



172 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

nity, that such productions, such forms of thought, 
could have descended to us, from spirits inhabiting the 
celestial spheres. If this is a true vision of immortality, 
we say, in all sincerity, give us annihilation. 

7. We now refer to an important class of facts 
which have been developed by inquiries put by indi- 
viduals for the specific purpose of satisfying their own 
minds on the question, whether spirits have, as a matter 
of fact, any connection with these mysterious phe- 
nomena. The inquiries to which we now refer have 
generally been made by individuals who had formed no 
particular theory upon the subject, and made simply for 
the purpose named. They have assumed, and for the 
best of reasons, that if spirits are really and truly re- 
sponding here, individuals will, of course, get no 
answers, if they call for those who cannot be present, 
and that if they can get the same answers from such 
spirits that can be obtained from any others, and in all 
respects the same evidence of spirit presence and 
agency, then Spiritualism, whatever else may be true of 
these facts, must be false. These experiments have 
established undeniably the fact, that in all respects the 
same answers can be elicited, and the same evidence of 
an actual presence as the authors and cause of these 
communications, can be obtained from the following 
classes of spirits, as from any others that ever have been 
or can be evoked, namely, from the departed spirits of 
devils ; from the departed spirits of individuals yet alive, 
or who never existed ; from the departed spirits of the 
lowest orders of brute beasts, insects, and reptiles ; and 
finally, from the departed spirits of shrubs and stones. 
All tests of identity, all indications of intelligence, of a 
knowledge of our secret thoughts, all forms of informa- 
tion, all kinds of manifestations, physical and mental, 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 173 

that can be obtained from any spirits whatever, can be 
obtained from each and every class above named. " I 
do n't understand these mysterious occurrences," said 
the father of a certain medium, an honest and intelligent 
farmer ; " but there is one thing that I do know about 
them, and that is, that we can obtain just as intelligent 
answers from the spirits of beasts, shrubs, and stones, 
as from any spirits that can be called upon. This I 
know absolutely; for I have made the experiment 
myself, till I am perfectly satisfied upon the subject." 
Mr. Ballou admits that facts of this kind do occur, and 
attributes their occurrence to a low order of spirits who 
are ready to appear in any characters that men desire. 
" This," he also says, " is the explanation given by 
truthful spirits." This explanation, however, is self- 
contradictory and absurd ; for this low order of 
spirits exhibit all the intelligence that any others do. 
They have the same power to respond to our secret 
thoughts, to answer test questions, and to convey infor- 
mation of facts unknown to us. They will discourse as 
profoundly upon all subjects that can be named as any 
others whatever. Now what more decisive evidence can 
we have of any truth than is here presented, that 
these responses do not come from spirits. The facts of 
the case could not be as they are, if invisible intelligent 
beings were really and truly communicating with us in 
these manifestations. They could not, on the other hand, 
but be as they are, if the spirits constituting the circles 
were unconsciously producing the answers which they 
obtain to their own inquiries. In this case, and in this 
alone, any spirit named, whether existing or not existing, 
would give the same responses as any other. 

The spiritualist, we know, has an answer ready for 
such facts. The individual putting such questions, he 

15* 



174 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

says, is in a dishonest state of mind, and therefore by 
the law of spiritual communications, draws lying spirits 
to himself, and from these he obtains his answers. 
This answer, if admitted as valid, proves far more than 
the spiritualist intends. It renders demonstrably evi- 
dent one fundamental fact pertaining to all these com- 
munications, the absolute impossibility of identifying at 
all any spirits which are communicating with us, if any 
are. If lying spirits can answer as correctly as any 
others, all test questions given to identify the spirits 
who are communicating with us, it is absolutely impos- 
sible for us, to determine whether the spirit communicat- 
ing with us, on any given occasion, is not a lying spirit 
instead of the one we suppose. All ground of confi- 
dence, therefore, in the validity of any of these com- 
munications is taken away. It cannot be denied that 
all evidence of the reality or validity of all such com- 
munications is utterly annihilated by the facts before us, 
facts which cannot be denied. 

But the assumption that the putting of such inquiries 
implies dishonesty in the inquirer, is wholly unauthor- 
ized. The questions are put for the single and honest 
purpose of determining the fact, whether these responses 
do proceed from disembodied spirits or not. They are 
perfectly adapted to secure that result, and consequently 
may be, and no doubt often are, put with the most per- 
fect integrity ; a state of mind which, if the law of 
spirit communication referred to is real, would repel 
and not draw to itself lying spirits. Truth-telling 
spirits, and they only, would be drawn into communica- 
tion with the inquirer to solve his honest doubts. 

The relation of the responses obtained under such 
circumstances to the state of the inquirer's mind, should 
not be overlooked in this connection. They are always 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 175 

in the fixed relation of consequence to that state, as ante" 
cedent. As is the state, so are the responses. As the 
former changes and varies, so do the latter. This is 
the fixed law of their occurrence. Now if this fact 
does not reveal the state referred to as the cause, and 
the responses as the effects of the action of that cause, 
and therefore exclude the supposition of ab extra spirit 
interposition, what relations of antecedence and conse- 
quence can reveal that of cause and effect ? None but 
those who are determined to be deceived can, as it 
seems to us, avoid the conclusion which we draw from 
these facts. 

8. There is a class of facts which should not be over- 
looked in this connection, a class against which no 
objection, like that above alluded to, can be raised. 
We refer to responses which individuals obtain, when 
they, with the most honest desire for true information, 
call for the spirits of friends whom they sincerely sup- 
pose to be dead, but who are yet alive. In all such 
cases, all the evidence of actual presence and identity 
is obtained that is ever obtained in any. instances what- 
ever, and inquirers are just as certain to get responses, 
when they call for the spirits of such persons, as in any 
other cases. We have two friends, for example, one of 
whom is alive, and the other dead, both of whom, how- 
ever, we, with equal honesty, suppose to be in the 
spirit world. We are just as sure to get an answer, 
when we call for one of these spirits, as for the other, 
and we can obtain, in all respects, the same evidence of 
actual presence and identity in one case, that we can in 
the other. The facts cannot be denied. They would 
be as these are, if the responses originated within the cir- 
cle. Could they be so, if they came from spirits out 
of those circles ? But one answer can be given to such 
a question. 



176 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

A child, for example, in an intelligent Christian fam- 
ily which we have known for nearly twenty years, 
recently became a table-moving, writing, and rapping 
medium. We have ourselves seen phenomena of the 
first class, and heard the raps connected with that 
child, and have fully satisfied ourselves that there is no 
intentional deception in the case. The evening after 
the child announced the fact that he was a medium, 
the family formed a circle by themselves, and when the 
rappings commenced, took the alphabet, and called for 
the name of the spirit present, if any was present, and 
was producing these mysterious sounds. The name of 
a young man, who had been, for a considerable period, 
a member of the family, and had left for New Orleans 
in the spring of 1854, and from whom, though he had 
promised to write, they had never heard since, was 
given. In answer to subsequent inquiries, the following 
statements were all rapped out, namely, that on the 24th 
of May, 1854, he had died in New Orleans, of the yel- 
low fever. Since that occurrence, that young man has 
reappeared among us, and thereby established the fact, 
that he is not dead. In this case, every question was 
put with the utmost sincerity, and there was nothing 
whatever to draw responses from lying spirits. Of 
this, however, the entire family are perfectly aware, that 
the answers obtained represented their own previous 
convictions of facts, and to those convictions they have 
sense enough to attribute the communication which they 
did obtain. 

A somewhat remarkable case of this kind recently 
occurred in Cleveland. A young man, some seven or 
eight months ago, went from that city to Chicago. 
From the latter city he wrote to his friends, that he 
was to leave that place for St. Louis. For upwards of 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 177 

five months subsequent to the reception of this letter, 
no intelligence whatever was received of him, and it 
was supposed that he was dead. His mother, having 
accompanied a female friend, a devoted spiritualist, to 
the residence of a medium, and while listening to the 
communications which others were then receiving, felt 
something like a human hand grasp her own, as if for 
the purpose of an affectionate salutation. She asked 
the medium what that meant, and was told that it was 
an indication to her, that a spirit was present who de- 
sired to speak to her. To her inquiry, who the spirit 
was, the name of her son was given. She was then 
informed, as from him, that on his way down the Mis- 
sissippi, the boat took fire, and he, in his fright, leaped 
overboard and was drowned. " You know, mother," 
said the spirit, " that while alive, I ridiculed spiritualism. 
I am exceedingly glad to find it true, as I can now com- 
municate with you." The mother was then requested to 
call again, at a time named, when he would have other 
important communications to make to her. The medium 
in this case was a speaking one, and the mother, though 
she had never met the medium before, nor had ever 
heard of her, recognized a perfect likeness to her son's 
voice and manner. She called as directed and received 
other communications. She then called upon two other 
mediums, both total strangers to her, and through them 
also received substantially, as from her son, the same 
messages as before. To the question, how can I know 
that it is really and truly my son that is communicating 
with me, she was told in reply, that he would accom- 
pany her home, and remain with her there, till all doubts 
were removed from her mind. The disconsolate mother 
returned home with the most absolute conviction, that 
her son was dead, and that she had communed with his 



178 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

spirit. On her arrival, however, she was met by that 
very son who had returned during her absence. He had 
written home, but none of his letters had arrived, and 
this was the cause of the apprehension that he was 
dead. 

Now this case, which we ourselves obtained directly 
from the family itself, this case, we say, and others of 
the same character, to any number desired, might be 
adduced, establishes most unquestionably the following 
facts. (1.) There was here the most perfect honesty and 
sincerity in the mind of the inquirer, and the consequent 
absence of all causes which, according to the principles 
of spiritualism, would draw lying spirits into rapport 
with her mind. (2.) All conceivable evidence, physical 
and mental, of the presence of the particular spirit sup- 
posed to be present was given, that is or can be given, 
in any other case. (3.) Nothing is requisite to obtain all 
the evidence of the actual presence of the disembodied 
spirits of individuals who are yet alive, that can be ob- 
tained in reference to that of any person who is dead, 
but an honest conviction, on the part of the inquirer, 
that the living individual, whose spirit is called for, is 
actually dead. (4.) To suppose that lying spirits can 
thus personate other minds, and none others, if any do, 
can respond, in such cases, is to annihilate all evidence, 
that any one can have, that he has ever communicated 
with any particular spirit, on any occasion whatever, on 
the one hand, and that all these communications, if from 
spirits at all, are not from "the father of lies," or his 
agents on the other. (5.) We need suppose no other 
cause for such responses, but the state of the inquirer's 
mind, in the circumstances actually existing, to account 
for all the facts which here present themselves. The 
recollection of her son would, of course, be very vivid 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 179 

in the mother's mind, and this would give form to 
the words, voice, and manner of the medium. (6.) It 
would be the height of absurdity, consequently, to refer 
such communications to any ab extra or spirit cause. 
There is to our minds no escaping these conclusions. 
(7.) If such cases are not, and no one will pretend that 
they are, to be referred to the agency of spirits, it would 
be the height of absurdity to refer any other of these 
communications to such agency. (8.) No tactual im- 
pressions, no likeness in these communications to the 
voice, style, or manner of persons living or dead, can be 
any real proof of the truth of spiritualism. This, we 
think, is undeniable. 

9. We now adduce a class of facts perfectly similar 
to those above named, and which occur under circum- 
stances that entirely free them from all the objections that 
can be raised, even by spiritualists, against the conclu- 
sions undeniably deducible from them. We refer to 
responses obtained in these circles by devoted spiritual- 
ists themselves, answers purporting to come from indi- 
viduals supposed and honestly supposed to be dead, but 
who are yet alive, or never existed at all. Here, of 
course, there is the most perfect integrity in the inquir- 
er's state of mind, and the consequent total absence of 
all causes to induce the presence and action of lying 
spirits. In precisely such circumstances, just the same 
kind of communications are obtained, and all test ques- 
tions put to identify " the spirits " communicating are 
answered with the same correctness, as in any other 
instances. A very striking case of this kind came 
under our own observation. A friend of ours was 
believed by herself, her physicians, and by all around 
her, to be in the very last stages of consumption, 
within one or two weeks, at the utmost, of death. At 



180 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

this time she was visited by a number of relatives, who 
were most devoted spiritualists, and who took very 
great pains, but without success, to interest her in the 
subject. She was feasting on more substantial realities 
than " the spirits " revealed to her. These individuals 
took their final leave of our friend, and returned to their 
distant homes with the most undoubted conviction, 
that in a very few days she would be in eternity. A 
few weeks subsequent, the husband of our friend re- 
ceived from those individuals a letter containing a 
special and affectionate communication from the spirit 
of his departed wife, — a communication obtained from 
that identical spirit and none other, in the spirit circle 
which these individuals attended. In that circle they 
inquired if the spirit of that supposed to have been 
dying, and consequently then dead friend, was present. 
The answer was, yes. After all proofs of identity were 
given that are ever required, and all the circumstances 
of our friend's departure and her then happy state were 
given, a wish y r as expressed by her to send a com- 
munication of consolation, etc. to the bereaved husband 
that was left behind. This communication was then 
given and forwarded, as stated above. It so happened 
that that very disembodied spirit thus identified, and 
thus communicating with the living, was then with her 
husband in the body, and to the wonder of all around, 
is yet alive, with a prospect of seeing years to come. 

A very notable case of a similar character appeared 
in the public prints recently, as connected with Judge 
Edmonds and others. In a certain paper in the in- 
terests of Spiritualism, and published in California, a 
paper called The Pioneer, a professedly spirit commu- 
nication appeared, as from the spirit of a Mr. Lane. 
This communication was subsequently indorsed by 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 181 

" the spirits " in a spirit circle as a genuine spirit pro- 
duction. It was then forwarded to Judge Edmonds, 
who forwarded to The Pioneer a communication which 
he had obtained, in the city of New York, from the 
spirit of this same Mr. Lane. On the appearance of 
this last communication, an editor of another California 
paper published the fact that he was well informed 
about Mr. Lane and his communications, that no such 
person ever had existed, and that the communication 
which first appeared in The Pioneer was of an exclu- 
sively mundane origin. Yet this very spirit appeared 
to Judge Edmonds, with all the evidence of an actual 
presence and identity, that he ever had of that of 
Bacon or any other spirit. 

We recently met with a very intelligent Christian 
lady who utterly repudiates the claims of Spiritualism, 
a lady who was left a widow by the celebrated William 
Leggett of New York, and whose present husband is 
a devoted spiritualist. While a circle was being held 
in her own parlor, her husband being a member of it, 
and she sitting in another part of the room, and no one 
in the circle could obtain any communication at all, 
the question was asked, whether there was any spirit 

present that wished to communicate with Mrs. 

Instantly a number of very loud raps were heard upon 
the top of the table. She was earnestly requested to 
enter the circle and receive communications. On her 
refusal to comply, individuals in the circle put ques- 
tions themselves, and received ready answers to all 
their inquiries. The spirit responding purported to be 

that of a brother of Mrs. , a brother who had sailed 

some twenty years ago as the commandant of a vessel, 
from the port of New York, and had never since been 
heard from, the vessel and all on board having, no 

16 



182 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

doubt, been lost. All particulars of the loss of the 
vessel, and the subsequent death of all on board, the 
brother having languished for thirty-six days on a raft, 
before he died, were given to her, as she affirmed, with 
a disgusting and even shocking minuteness. She had 
another brother, Stephen, from whom no tidings had 
been received for upwards of two years. The elder 
brother, on being questioned on the subject, affirmed 
that Stephen was with him in the spirit land ; that he 
had died on a steamboat, at a particular place and time 
named, on the Mississippi river ; that he had six thou- 
sand five hundred dollars with him when he died ; that 
this treasure was taken possession of by three individ- 
uals, one a female, who had since died, and with the 
greatest agony of mind, had confessed the wrong to 
the spirit of the brother named above, etc. Soon 
after she received a letter from a sister in New York, 
saying, " I have just received a letter from brother Ste- 
phen, and he will be with us in two or three weeks." 
The statements pertaining to the elder brother could 
not, of course, be tested. Those pertaining to the 
other, however, statements equally specific and worthy 
of credit, she happily had the means of informing 
herself about. But one explanation can be given 
of the communications obtained in this instance. 
The husband of this lady knew about the brothers, 
honestly supposed them both alike to have been dead, 
and hence the responses obtained. 

The fact is undeniable, that whenever there is an 
honest belief that an individual is dead, whether he is 
alive or never existed at all, even spiritualists can obtain 
all the evidence of the presence, identity, and agency 
of his spirit, that can be obtained in any other case 
whatever. Any persons, that in the presence of such 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 183 

facts will attribute these manifestations to spirits, and 
especially to particular ones, hold their minds open to 
any delusions that may be sent to them from any source 
whatever. 

10. We now invite very special attention to a class 
of facts of the most absolute and decisive bearing upon 
our present inquiries. "We refer to certain observations 
and experiments which individuals have made, with 
this one specific purpose in view, namely, to determine 
the location of the cause of these manifestations, whether 
that cause pertains to the minds in the circles, or to dis- 
embodied spirits out of them. As the facts now to be 
adduced are perfectly fundamental in their bearing, we 
shall make a quite extensive selection from the great 
mass that lies around us, and which might be adduced, 
did our limits permit. 

We will begin with a fact connected with clairvoy- 
ance, and then parallel it with another connected with 
these manifestations. Some years since, Rev. J. H. S., 
then pastor of the Baptist church in Poughkeepsie, N. 
Y., met, on a certain occasion, several individuals at the 
house of a friend. Among the individuals present was 
a Mr. L., who first mesmerized A. J. Davis. Mr. L. ex- 
pressed to Mr. S. much surprise that the latter should 
hold the doctrine of future retribution, when such pal- 
pable evidence to the contrary could be presented. 
Here, he says, is a young man now present whom I will " 
introduce into a clairvoyant state, in which he will have 
a direct vision of the condition of the spirits of the 
dead. Let us see what report he will bring back of 
that state. This was done. As the young man was 
subjected to the actions of the odylic [mesmeric] force, 
his head, he being seated in a chair, was drawn between 
his knees, till his hair touched the floor. In this state 



184 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

he remained for about two hours, without apparent in- 
jury or wearisomeness. During this time many very 
wonderful facts were developed which we have not space 
to detail. At length Mr. L. introduced his subject 
among the spirits of the dead, that is, willed, that he 
should have such visions, and asked him what he saw. 
With the greatest delight conceivable, he testified that 
all, all were happy, very, very happy. What do you 
think of that, Mr. S., says the mesmerizer ? How can 
you resist such evidence ? Put me in communication 
with the young man, says Mr. S., and let us see what will 
then appear. This was done. Mr. S., without speaking 
at all, fixed his attention upon one of the most depraved 
characters that ever appeared in this country, an indi- 
vidual who had been executed in that place, a short time 
previous, for murder, and who died as he had lived. 
Soon the clairvoyant began to scream, with the greatest 
anguish and entreaty conceivable. "Do let me off! 
Do let me off! T can't endure it," he exclaimed. Mr. 
S. asked him what he saw. The individual referred to, 
and to whom no allusion had before been made, was 
named. Where is he ? asked Mr. S. " In hell," was 
the reply. " I can't endure the sight of him," exclaimed 
the young man. " Do let me off." What do you think 
now, Mr. L. ? said Mr. S. No one can doubt the cause 
of these diverse and opposite visions in this case. They 
simply represented the ideas of those in mesmeric com- 
munication with the clairvoyant. That is all. Had he 
been put in communication with individuals holding 
every variety of sentiment that exists on earth in refer- 
ence to a future state, his visions would, in succession, 
have represented them all, just as they did those of the 
individuals referred to, and that for the same identical 
reason. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 185 

We will now attend to a case of perfectly similar 
characteristics, connected with these manifestations. A 
gentleman of our acquaintance, now a member of the 
bar in Cleveland, held a discussion on this subject, some 
years since, in North Adams, Mass. That he might be 
prepared for the discussion, he called, in company with 
the leading physician of the place, upon a neighbor 
whose daughter was a medium, and requested the 
privilege of witnessing some of "the spirit" phenom- 
ena. The first evening was spent in witnessing physi- 
cal manifestations. With these they were perfectly 
astonished and even confounded. The medium plac- 
ing simply the ends of her fingers upon the top of a 
large table standing in the centre of the room, called 
upon the spirit of an individual who had previously 
died in the place to move the object referred to. It 
was moved accordingly. Our friend got under the table 
and attempted to hold it still. Yet the object, and him- 
self with it, was drawn over the floor, his utmost efforts 
to the contrary notwithstanding. The physician placed 
a sheet of paper under the fingers of the medium, and 
drew it out while the table was being moved, and that 
without any sensible indications of pressure upon it. 
They consequently left, with the impression that they 
should be compelled to confess before the audience to 
the truth of Spiritualism. 

On the next day they agreed with three individuals, 
leading members of the three denominations of the 
place, one a Congregationalist, one a Baptist, and the 
other a Universalist, to meet them the evening follow- 
ing at the house referred to, neither being informed at 
all of the object to be obtained, nor of the fact that 
either of the others was to be there. When the circle 
was formed, the Congregationalist was introduced. 

16* 



186 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

The same spirit was present that moved the table the 
evening before. In answer to inquiries put by the 
individual last referred to, the evangelical view of 
heaven, hell, and eternal retribution, was absolutely 
affirmed as immutably true. To the question what 
mode of baptism is correct, sprinkling was rapped out. 
With a pledge of secrecy, he was then dismissed, 
and the Baptist called in. In answer to inquiries 
made by the latter, the same view of eternity as before 
was given. To the question, what mode of baptism is 
right, immersion was rapped out. He being dismissed, 
the Universalist was introduced. The same spirit 
which had given the responses above stated, now 
denied the doctrine of retribution altogether, stoutly 
asserting the doctrine of universal salvation, and man- 
ifested a total indifference to the question of baptism, 
in any form. When the audience had assembled to 
listen to the discussion, these individuals were called 
upon to testify to the spirit communications which 
they had received, and did so with a result which we 
need not specify. In a similar manner, every senti- 
ment held by every people or sect on earth, might have 
been absolutely affirmed and denied, by the spirit which 
responded in that circle, or by any other spirit which 
appeared there, or ever appeared in any other circle on 
earth, and that for the identical reason, that precisely 
similar answers can be obtained from the mesmeric 
subject. Who, in the presence of such facts, and this 
is the immutable character of these manifestations the 
world over, can doubt their origin? It would be an 
impeachment of the common sense of our readers, to 
argue the question. 

The above case, while it bears with the most decisive 
weight upon the question of the location of the real con- 
trolling cause of these manifestations, clearly evinces the 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 187 

reality of an important fact, the honesty and sincerity 
of some mediums, of one, to say the least. Any person 
who was voluntarily, and by known but occult and 
deceptive means, producing these rapping sounds, 
would never, at the same sitting, rap out such contra- 
dictory communications. Many other facts, equally 
palpable and undeniable, evince to our minds most 
indubitable evidence, that many other mediums are not 
intentionally deceiving the public, but honestly suppose 
themselves organs of communication between the 
inhabitants of this and the spirit land. 

Let us now consider another case of a similar charac- 
ter to the one just adduced. A gentleman who was 
then at the head of one of the literary institutions of the 
State of .Ohio, entered one of these circles, and inquired 
if the spirit of a dear friend, his mother, we believe, was 
present, and received an affirmative answer. Being 
perfectly assured that that spirit, if present, and no one 
in the circle but himself, did know his age, for the ex- 
clusive purpose of identification, he asked the spirit to 
reveal his age. To his surprise, precisely the right num- 
ber was rapped out, namely, thirty or thirty-one years. 
To satisfy himself in respect to the cause of the answer, 
he fixed his attention distinctly upon another and differ- 
ent number, twenty-five, and asked the same spirit to 
give his age once more. The identical number upon 
which his attention was then fixed was given, and not 
the correct one given before. He asked if the doctrine 
of eternal retribution is true ? He received an absolute 
affirmation that it is. He induced a voluntary doubt in 
his mind of the truth of that doctrine, and assumed that 
of the opposite one. To his questions now, his own 
mother stood revealed as an uncompromising Universal- 
ist. He asked, which denomination of Christians is 



188 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

most nearly correct in doctrine and discipline, at the 
same time fixing his attention upon his own. That one 
sect was named. He fixed his attention upon another 
denomination, internally assuming that it was most 
nearly conformed to the Scriptures, and repeated the 
question just answered. This one sect was now desig- 
nated. He thus went through the entire circle of de- 
nominations that occurred to his recollection, so putting 
his questions that the medium's mind was not disturbed, 
and found his own mother a Presbyterian, Methodist, 
Baptist, Episcopalian, Universalist, Christian, Unitarian, 
and any thing, and every thing, just according to his 
own mere internal assumptions. He knew absolutely 
that such was not her character, and that upon no 
known or reasonably imagined laws of mind, could he 
account for such responses, as proceeding from any in- 
telligent spirits, good or bad. On the other hand, he 
saw clearly, that just such communications would be 
obtained, if these manifestations are caused by the men- 
tal states of the individuals constituting the circles. He 
consequently left the circle, as any reasonable man 
would, with the undoubted conviction that the cause of 
these communications was within the circle, and not 
from disembodied spirits out of it. Just such answers 
may be obtained, and are obtained, in all these circles 
everywhere, in all cases where the inquirer acts with 
corresponding deliberation, and where the responses are 
not controlled by the influence of other minds present. 
Precisely similar and analogous experiments were made 
by Miss Catharine Beecher, with precisely similar results, 
experiments made in the most decisive forms, and so 
varied and repeated, that a mistake is hardly conceiva- 
ble, and by no means supposable. With the same 
identical results, a gentleman made very extensive ex- 



s~~ 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 189 

periments in the various circles in Great Britain. At 
one time, for example, he imagined that a great fortune 
had just fallen to him by legacy, in a certain city. He 
immediately received from " the spirits " an important 
communication, corresponding, in all respects, to his 
own imaginings, and having no other foundation in fact. 
What higher evidence can we have that any facts are 
exclusively mundane in their origin, than is here pre- 
sented in respect to the facts under consideration ? 

Two gentlemen, partners in business in Cleveland, 
have given us the privilege of making use of the follow- 
ing facts of which they were both witnesses. On one 
occasion they witnessed the following facts in mesmer- 
ism. We here repeat, on account of present bearings, 
a fact stated in another connection, adding some cir- 
cumstances not then stated. The mesmerizer agreed to 
induce the subject, a lady who was perfectly blind- 
folded, to sing, and to stop the singing, the instant Mr. 
A. should raise his finger. When the singing com- 
menced, the mesmerizer was standing some two or 
three feet from the subject, with his eyes fixed intently 
upon Mr. A. who was standing in a distant part of the 
room. When the singer had partly finished a very long 
note, Mr. A. raised his finger. The voice instantly 
stopped, with the note half finished. As the mesmer- 
izer willed it, the singing was resumed, and that note, 
and the rest of the stanza were finished. After the lady 
was brought out of the magnetic state, Mr. A. saw her 
engaged in conversation with a friend, with the fingers 
of her hands interlocked together. Without uttering a 
word, or making a motion, he fixed his attention upon 
her hands, and willed that they should adhere together 
so firmly, that she should be unable to separate them. 
When the conversation was finished, she, to her perfect 



190 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

surprise, found it impossible to draw her hands apart, 
till Mr. A., by an act of will, permitted it. These facts 
occurred in the presence of other most credible wit- 
nesses, who testify to their occurrence as here related. 

On a subsequent occasion, these gentlemen visited, 
in company, a spirit circle formed in this city by Mrs. 
Fish and the Fox girls. Mr. A., when it came his turn 
to inquire, fixed his thoughts distinctly upon his father 
who was then living, and with the same distinctness 
framed in his own mind the communications he should 
receive. Instantly the departed spirit of that father ap- 
peared, his name being rapped out in answer to the 
question, what spirit will communicate with me ? that 
spirit, we say, appeared and took from his son's mind 
the thoughts preexisting there, just as the printed page 
is taken from the stereotype plate. He dismissed his 
father from his mind, and fixed his thoughts as dis- 
tinctly as possible, upon five or six other individuals. 
Immediately a corresponding number of raps were 
heard upon the top of the table. "Five or six spirits 
now respond to you," says Mrs. Fish. Such was the 
correspondence between the thoughts of the inquirer, 
and the answers obtained, a correspondence which 
always obtains, when there is the same deliberation and 
distinctness of thought on the part of the inquirer, and 
when the action of the invisible force is not disturbed 
by the mental states of others in the circle. Myriads of 
undeniable facts confirm this statement. Mr. L., the 
other partner, now communicated with " the spirits." 
Every question, whether put to the departed spirits of 
individuals living or dead, and he communicated with 
each class, was answered in exact correspondence with 
his own preformed conceptions. At length, having put 
a question, he instantly, by an act of will, confused his 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 191 

own mind, so that there was no thought in it to be 
represented. In a moment, the rappings stopped, just 
as the singing was interrupted in the instance above ad- 
duced. Thus he found that the action of this mysteri- 
ous force, was under his absolute control. He could 
induce, suspend, and direct its action at will, just as he 
could that of his own hand or arm. The same holds 
true, in all cases, when the same conditions are fulfilled. 
Every one who has tried the experiment has found, that 
correct answers can be obtained, when the inquirer 
knows what the answer should be, and keeps his mind 
distinctly fixed upon it, and that every thing is con- 
fused, or that no answers at all can be obtained, when he 
asks a question, and then either confuses his thoughts, or 
turns them upon other subjects. If such facts do not 
reveal the relation of cause and effect between the men- 
tal states of individuals in these circles, and the com- 
munications there obtained, no such relation can, by any 
possibility, be established between any causes and facts 
in the universe around us. 

The case which we next cite is, if possible, more 
fundamental and decisive in its bearings than any 
others that we have yet adduced. A gentleman of 
the city of Cleveland made very extensive and careful 
experiments and observations, for the purpose of satis- 
fying his own mind in regard to the origin of these 
manifestations. He entered upon the inquiry with the 
earnest hope of finding valid evidence, that these mani- 
festations come from disembodied spirits. He was 
equally dissatisfied with the doctrine of eternal retribu- 
tions, on the one hand, and with that of Universalisrn, 
on the other. The general teachings of the spirits 
appeared to affirm an intermediate view, which corre- 
sponded with what, to say the least, he wished to find 



192 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

reliable evidence for believing. He accordingly put, 
and received answers to, upwards of one hundred 
questions, in the circles of Mrs. Fish and the Foxes, in 
this city. A large portion of these questions, probably 
more than one half, as he says, were asked mentally. 
The following are the most important facts developed. 
(1.) In every instance, without exception, the answer 
referred to the subject-matter inquired about. Here he 
found the immutable relation of antecedence and con- 
sequence, cause and effect. (2.) In every instance in 
which he knew what the answer should be, a perfectly 
correct one was obtained. (3.) When he was in doubt 
what the answer should be, those doubts were reflected, 
and nothing positive asserted. For example, a sister 
of his had died of a lingering disease, of the nature of 
which there was doubt among the physicians, and in 
his own mind, some five or six different diseases having 
been assigned, and none fixed upon with certainty. 
He inquired of the spirit of that sister, what was the 
disease of which she did die ? All the diseases which he 
had heard suggested as the cause, and none others, 
were named, each designated with very feeble raps, 
and neither positively affirmed as the real cause. So 
in all other similar cases. (4.) When he was mistaken 
in regard to the facts about which he inquired, and 
when the spirits of whom he was inquiring did know, 
and could not have forgotten, the answers invariably 
corresponded with his mistaken apprehensions, and not 
with the real facts, as he subsequently became informed, 
and as they were known to the spirits professedly 
answering. For example, he inquired of the spirit of 
his own sister her age at the time of her death, he 
supposing, at the moment, that twenty-eight was the true 
answer, and that number was rapped out. On a sub- 



THE "MISSION OF THE SPIRITS." 193 

sequent reference to the family records, he found that 
she was really aged at the time upwards of thirty 
years. A friend of his had lost his life in California, 
by drowning, and that, as he had been informed, in a 
certain river, by accidentally slipping through a raft of 
logs. All the facts of the occurrence were given, pro- 
fessedly by the spirit of that friend, as he had supposed 
them to be. From four individuals present when the 
event occurred, he subsequently learned that his friend 
actually came to his end in another part of the State, 
in another river, and by a totally different accident. 
The answer corresponded with the supposed, and not 
with the real facts as known to the spirit professedly 
communicating. He put a question to another spirit, 
pertaining to a transaction about which, as he well 
knew, that spirit was perfectly informed, and he, as he 
subsequently learned, himself had been misinformed. 
The answer corresponded with his misinformation, and 
not with the real facts, as known to the spirit profess- 
edly responding. (5.) To every question, without excep- 
tion, pertaining to subjects of which he was ignorant, 
a wrong answer was obtained. As the result of his 
experience, he drew the following inferences. 

(1.) That disembodied spirits can have no connection 
with these communications, and we envy not the candor 
or logical consistency of the individual who draws from 
such facts a different conclusion. (2.) That no informa- 
tion is ever communicated, in these circles, beyond what 
is previously known to the inquirer. We suppose that 
not one person in a thousand would draw any different 
conclusion from similar investigations in these circles, 
investigations conducted upon similar principles. The 
only exceptions that do occur are, as we suppose, some 
solitary revelations through clairvoyance, revelations 

17 



194 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

which no one has reason to expect, when he resorts to 
these circles, and certain answers corresponding to and 
evidently occasioned by acts of imagination and con- 
jecture. 

Let us now look at another very important case. A 
gentleman in Boston, a devoted spiritualist, while sit- 
ing in a spirit circle, was struck with the revelation to 
his mind of the fact, that the responses to the questions 
propounded by inquirers, so frequently corresponded 
with the conceptions previously formed in his own im- 
agination. This led to more careful reflection and 
observation, and finally to important experiments in 
which he found, that he could determine beforehand 
what answers should be given to any questions pro- 
pounded by any persons present, and that he had, in a 
similar manner, been unconsciously directing the action 
of this mysterious force, and that while he had been 
supposing that spirits out of the circles had been doing 
it. A totally new theory pertaining to these so called 
spirit manifestations now stood revealed to his mind. 
He saw that mere reflections of the thoughts of indi- 
viduals, in the circles, had been mistaken for the voices 
of spirits out of the circles. 

A gentleman of very strong mesmeric power in the 
State of New York also found, after the most exten- 
sive experiments, that he could enter any circle what- 
ever, and by simply willing it, could utterly silence 
" the spirits " so that no communications whatever 
could be obtained from thenij that he could, in a 
similar manner, utterly confuse their responses, or 
determine beforehand, the answers which should be 
given to any questions proposed by any persons present. 
The bearing of such facts cannot be mistaken. Any 
person that in their presence will attribute these mani- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 195 

festations to disembodied spirits, must be a spiritualist 
by mere dint of will, and because he is determined to 
be deceived. 

A professor of the Ohio Medical College, at the 
earnest solicitation of friends, visited on one occasion 
the spirit circle of Mrs. Fish and the Foxes in the city 
of Cleveland. All his questions, the first excepted, his 
mind not being in a collected state at the moment, were 
answered with perfect correctness, though they per- 
tained to subjects with which he alone, of the members 
of the circle, was acquainted; all his questions, we 
say, were correctly answered, till the spirit communicat- 
ing, that of a sister, was requested to specify the given 
name of their father. The moment he put the ques- 
tion, his thought recurred to his brother concerning 
whom he had just before been inquiring. The name of 
the brother instead of the father was immediately rap- 
ped out. The occurrence, he remarked, threw a flood 
of light upon his mind in regard to the origin and 
cause of these manifestations. The spirit professedly 
communicating understood the names of each of the 
individuals referred to as well as the professor himself, 
and would have corrected the mistake, had it been that 
person that was communicating. No such correction, 
however, was made. He concluded, therefore, that his 
own thought caused the answer, and not that of a 
spirit out of the circle. Who can doubt the correctness 
of his conclusion ? Had it been an intelligent mind 
out of the circle, especially the mind professedly answer- 
ing, it could have made no difference whatever to what 
subject the thoughts of the inquirer should turn, after 
asking his question. If, on the other hand, the action 
of this power in the production of the answer, was con- 
trolled by the mental states of the inquirer himself, then 



196 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the accidental diversion of attention, in this instance, 
would occasion the identical answer that was received. 
On no other principle can its occurrence be accounted 
for. 

This case also reveals the principle on which so many 
wrong answers are obtained in these circles to ques- 
tions pertaining to subjects in respect to which both the 
inquirers and the spirits professedly answering are per- 
fectly informed, and when such answers are not only un- 
intentionally but unexpectedly obtained. It is by the ac- 
cidental diversion of attention from the subject inquired 
about to some other subject. We shall have occasion 
to recur to this class of facts again, as they will be seen 
to have a very important bearing upon the question 
before us. All that is now required is to suggest the 
principle in accordance with which they occur. 

This case also suggests a class of facts of very con- 
clusive and decisive bearing upon our present inquiries. 
It has been found, by careful observation and experi- 
ment, that the following relations, among others, exist 
between the mental states of the inquirer, and the an- 
swers obtained, when such responses are not disturbed 
and modified by the undeniable psychological influence 
of other minds. (1.) If the inquirer fully commands 
his thoughts, and keeps his attention fixed upon the 
subject inquired about, the responses, whether right or 
wrong, will invariably relate to that one subject. (2.) 
If he knows what the answers should be, they will be 
almost if not quite, invariably right, and if he does not 
know, and the spirit professedly communicating most 
manifestly does, the answer, excepting when a mere yes 
or no is required, and where, and on the principle of 
mere guessing, there is as much likelihood that the an- 
swer shall be right as wrong, the answer, we say, will be 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 197 

nearly as invariably wrong. (3.) When the inquirer is 
misinformed, and the true answer is known to the spirit 
professedly communicating, the answer will uniformly 
embody the misinformation of the inquirer, instead of 
the truth as known to the spirit, all the apparent excep- 
tions admitting of a ready explanation, without suppos- 
ing the interposition of spirits. (4.) When the true 
answer is known both to the inquirer and to the pro- 
fessedly answering spirit, if the attention of the former 
is either intentionally or accidentally diverted and fixed 
definitely upon something else, this new thought, and 
not the answer referred to, will be embodied in the re^ 
sponse obtained. (5.) If, either by accident or design, 
the mind of the inquirer becomes so confused, that there 
is in it, no thought at all to be represented, no answer 
whatever will be obtained. (6.) If the inquirer is not 
able, or does not think, to command his attention, so as 
to prevent his thoughts becoming confused and wander- 
ing, the answers will perfectly accord with his mental 
states at the time, the answers being sometimes relevant 
and at others strikingly irrelevant, and sometimes right, 
and at others wrong, and that when the true answer, in 
every instance, is perfectly known both to the inquirer 
and the spirit professedly communicating with him. 
(7.) Let an individual write out a series of questions, the 
true answers to all of which are perfectly known to 
him, and to the spirit of a deceased friend, let the former 
put those questions into the hands of an individual who 
knows nothing about the facts to which the questions 
pertain, and let this individual put these questions to 
that spirit, and the following will be the invariable result. 
If this individual puts the questions without forming in 
his own mind any imaginary answers, or fixing attention 
upon the subject at all, there will be either no responses 

17* 



198 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

at all, or they will all have the undeniable characteristics 
of mere imaginings, on the part of individuals who 
know nothing about the subjects referred to. If, on the 
other hand, he frames in his own mind, a distinct and 
definite imaginary answer to each question, and keeps 
his thoughts distinctly fixed upon that answer when he 
puts the question, the response obtained will accord 
with his imaginings and not with the facts, as known 
to the individual who wrote the questions, and to the 
spirit professedly responding to them. Experiments of 
this kind have been tried in so many instances, and in 
such a diversity of forms, as to' establish the truth of 
the above principle. If any still doubt, they can verify 
that principle, by making the experiments themselves. 
(8.) Any inquirer who can command his own thoughts, 
and think with entire deliberation under such circum- 
stances, especially if he has considerable mesmeric 
power, can, at will, make any spirit that shall profess- 
edly answer his call, — and such individuals can call up 
any spirits they choose, — give any answer he pleases 
to any question he may choose to put. He can make 
such spirit affirm and deny successively any sentiment 
that can be named, and contradict himself any number 
of times he pleases, provided always, that the process 
is so conducted, as not to disturb the medium, or break 
the odylic harmony of the circle. Most of the above 
statements have been most fully verified by the facts 
already stated. Others will be in those which we are 
about to present, and all could be still further, by num- 
berless undeniable additional facts which we might pre- 
sent. We affirm, without fear of contradiction, that 
these facts can be accounted for but upon the truth of 
the hypothesis which we maintain, namely, that these 
communications originate exclusively from the minds 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 199 

in these circles, and not from disembodied spirits out of 
the same. Tf such were their origin, they could not but 
have these identical characteristics, and they could not 
have these characteristics, if they did originate from in- 
telligent minds, good or bad, out of these circles, minds 
governed by any mental laws known to us. We have 
made the above statements to prepare the way for the 
presentation of the following very interesting and im- 
portant facts which we have obtained, since our visit to 
Boston, and while the preceding portions of this trea- 
tise were going through the press. Our convictions of 
the truth of our hypothesis have been greatly strength- 
ened, by the perfect accordance which we have found 
to exist in the character and bearings of the fundamen- 
tal facts developed by careful observers in this city, and 
those which we had previously collected and arranged 
by means of our own observations and inquiries. The 
individuals whose names and facts will now be pre- 
sented, will please to accept of our grateful acknowl- 
edgments for their kindness in furnishing us with facts 
so important, and especially for permitting us to use 
their names in cozmection with these facts. 



FACTS WHICH OCCURRED AT THE HOUSE OP REV. 
STARR KING. 

The facts which we first adduce occurred at the house 
of Rev. Starr King, pastor of the Hollis Street Church, 
Boston. The circle was a select one, and the individual 
through whom the communications were obtained was 
the celebrated medium, Mrs. Hayden. The main ques- 
tioner was an individual of great self-command, and of 
corresponding power of intellectual concentration. The 
circumstances then were as favorable, in all respects, as 



200 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

we can well conceive, for eliciting important and de- 
cisive facts. The first object of the questioner was to 
ascertain distinctly and conclusively, whether the name 
of an individual of which he was thinking, and when 
no one present could have the least suspicion of 
what name he was thinking, could be spelled out, 
through the medium, by raps, and that when the me- 
dium could, by no possibility, have any knowledge of 
the movements of his hand when he should point at 
the requisite letters. He accordingly placed himself 
where the medium could not see him at all, nor any 
other person who could report his motions to her. The 
right name was thus given, and also the place where 
the individual bearing that name had died, namely, the 
Tremont House. He was, therefore, as he ought to 
have been, most fully satisfied, that there was present 
a power through which his most secret thoughts could 
be externally expressed, and this too, when he had 
given not the least indication to any one what those 
thoughts were. He then wished to know whether his 
own mind controlled the action of that power, in the 
production of such communications, or that of some 
spirit out of the circle, no other hypothesis being sup- 
posable in this case. To solve this one problem was the 
object of the questions subsequently put. He accord- 
ingly asked the spirit professedly communicating, how 
long a time it was since he died ? " Twelve days," was 
the answer rapped out. You are wrong there, replied 
the questioner, addressing the spirit ; it is only ten days 
since you died. I know absolutely that this is the fact, 
and you must be aware of it too. Please answer that 
question again. " Twelve days " were again given. 
Again and again he reasoned with the spirit on the 
subject, affirming absolutely to him, that ten days was 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS."' 201 

the only right answer. Again and again the same 
number as before was given. He then asked the spirit 
to designate the day of the week on which he died. 
Saturday was given. You are wrong again, says the 
inquirer, and you must be aware of the fact. You died 
on Monday. Please correct the mistake. Saturday 
was given, as before. Again and again the spirit was 
told that Monday was the true answer, and was expos- 
tulated with for not giving it. Again and again, when 
requested to correct his mistake, Saturday was given. 
The man did die on Monday, and had been just ten 
days dead. How were these singular answers ob- 
tained? When the inquirer asked the spirit to tell the 
time which had elapsed since, or the day of the week 
on which he died, the inquirer would internally, and 
wholly unknown to any one but himself, fix his thoughts 
and hold them fixed, upon the number twelve, or Satur- 
day, as the case might be. "When he had reminded 
the spirit of his mistake, and asked him to correct it, 
he would then, while the response was being rapped 
out, fix his attention upon the wrong number or the 
wrong day, and the answer, in every instance, corre- 
sponded to that number or day, and not to the right one, 
as absolutely known both to the inquirer and the spirit 
professedly responding. Between the thought in his 
mind at the moment, and the answer obtained, there 
was, even in this case, the fixed and immutable relation 
of antecedence and consequence, a relation so immuta- 
ble and fixed as to demonstrate the existence between 
them of that of cause and effect. 

The individual then called up other spirits, and went 
through precisely similar processes with them, and that 
with the same invariable results. A friend of his, for 
example, had died in the city of New York. After 



202 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

obtaining the same evidence of presence and identity 
as before, the inquirer, secretly fixing his own attention 
upon Salem, then asked the spirit of that friend to 
name the place where he died. Salem was rapped out. 
He solemnly assured the spirit that he was wrong, 
affirming that New York was the right answer, and 
asked him to correct his error, the inquirer fixing his 
own attention, as soon as the request was made, upon 
Salem. This last name was given as before. So with 
many other spirits, with precisely similar results, no one 
present having the least suspicion of what the inquirer 
was doing, until he himself disclosed the fact, after he 
had finished questioning the spirits. In every experi- 
ment, he found it absolutely impossible to induce any 
spirit he could call up, — and he could, we repeat, call up 
any one he chose, — to give the true answer to any ques- 
tion he might propose, however absolutely that answer 
was known to himself and the spirit too, if his atten- 
tion at the moment was only fixed upon some other 
answer, an answer known to himself and the spirit too, 
to be false, and when the spirit was entreated not to 
give that answer, but the true one. He always ob- 
tained a correct response when he would allow his 
attention to be fixed upon it, and a wrong one, when 
his attention, for the moment, was directed towards 
that, and in all instances, the answers perfectly accorded 
with the secret movements of his own mind. No person, 
we are free to say, will have the effrontery to assign 
any other controlling cause for these communications, 
than the mental states of this individual. From these 
most decisive facts, the following conclusions in regard 
to these communications are rendered undeniably evi- 
dent: (1.) There is in nature a force, whose action, 
when certain conditions are fulfilled, corresponds with 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 203 

our mental states, and is determined by the same, — 
a force through which our own thoughts may be re- 
flected back upon us, as if they came from other minds, 
minds, to us invisible, and apparently from the spirit 
land, — a very important truth, unquestionably. (2.) 
There is also in this so called spirit movement a power 
by which, without any external motions or signs what- 
ever on our part, our most secret thoughts may be 
revealed and expressed. (3.) This may be done in the 
total absence of all ab extra spirit agency, none being 
supposable in the facts before us. (4.) No such revela- 
tions can be adduced as presenting any evidence whatever 
of an ab extra spirit origin. (5.) We have no occasion 
to go beyond the force developed in these circles, and 
the mental states of the individuals constituting them, 
to account for any revelations embodied in these com- 
munications, those pertaining to secret thoughts being, 
of all others, in themselves the most wonderful and 
unaccountable, far more so than those which pertain to 
mere physical objects, however distant. (6.) We have 
the highest positive evidence of the exclusively subjective 
origin of these so called spirit manifestations. Any per- 
sons that, in the presence of such facts, can draw any 
other conclusion, is, in our honest judgment, far removed, 
in his reasonings from facts to conclusions, off from the 
true line of scientific or common sense deduction. 

The communications received by Mr. King himself, 
though not, in all respects, so decisive in their bearings, 
were yet very interesting and important. Being informed, 
by the appropriate raps, that a spirit was present who 
would communicate with him, he asked, first, for the 
initials of his (the spirit's) name, Mr. K. at the time 
fixing his attention upon a certain individual who had 
died some time before, an individual whom no one 



204 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

present but himself was likely to think of. The initials 
of the very name that rose in his mind were given. 
He then called for the name in full, and it was given 
accordingly. Many important test questions were then 
asked, and all, without exception, which came within the 
recollection of Mr. K. himself, were answered with the 
most perfect accuracy. The spirit was asked to give the 
title of the work which he prepared for the press just be- 
fore his death, Mr. K. knowing what it was. The entire 
title was given accordingly. " Now give," says Mr. K., 
" the first sentence of that work," the work being pres- 
ent, but Mr. K. having no recollection whatever what 
that sentence was. Several most abortive efforts were 
made to form a sentence ; but nothing was expressed 
which at all corresponded to any part of the sentence 
referred to. Such facts leave no reasonable doubt upon 
the question of the origin of these manifestations. 

IMPORTANT PACTS FURNISHED BY DR. BELL. 

We now invite very special attention to some interest 
ing and important facts which have been kindly fur- 
nished us by Luther V. Bell, M. D., who is at the head of 
the McLean Lunatic Asylum of Somerville,near Boston. 
For the past two years, as Dr. B. informs us, he has, as 
far as his official duties permitted, carefully observed and 
studied the spirit phenomena, physical and intellectual, 
and that for two reasons — the interest which attaches 
to the phenomena themselves — but more especially 
from the fact, that not a few of the inmates of that in- 
stitution were there through the influence of this one 
cause. The following may be stated, as among the 
more important results of his investigations. "We 
make our citations from " two dissertations on what is 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 205 

termed the Spiritual Phenomena, read at the meetings 
of the Association of Medical Superintendents of Amer- 
ican Insane Hospitals at Washington and Boston, in 
1854 and 1855," dissertations, the manuscripts of which 
he has very kindly put into our hands, with the permis- 
sion to make such extracts from them, as, in our judg- 
ment, the interests of science might seem to require. 
The following are the results of his observations, which 
were most carefully made through upwards of twenty 
sessions in the spirit circles. 

1. They most fully sustain the claims of Spiritualism, 
as far as the mere fact of physical manifestations are 
concerned, namely, the movement of heavy bodies, both 
with and without physical contact, their movement, too, 
in accordance with intelligence. We will give a single 
case in illustration, a case related in the following ex- 
tract from Dissertation II. 

" The following is the minute of one of the physical 
manifestations. Went to the house of Jonathan Brown, 
Jr., Esq., cashier of the Market Bank, with Mr. Homer 
Goodhue, just returned from the South. Mr. Goodhue 
for twenty years was the supervisor of our male depart- 
ment, and well known in character, at least, to many 
members of this association. He is a gentleman of 
orthodox faith, and not free from the prejudices of that 
denomination against this new thing as a religious ele- 
ment. He never before had been present, or seen any 
manifestations. In fact, he had never seen a ' medium,' 
or attended a 'circle.' Mrs. Brown and a young 
woman, Mr. Brown's niece, made up the list of the five 
persons present. This ' medium ' is exceedingly small, 
not weighing more than eighty to ninety pounds, and yet 
her gifts appear to be very great in effecting infractions 
of gravitation, but not certain or strong in the other 

18 



206 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

classes of powers. We sat in the double parlors 
joined with folding doors, or rather, doors sliding on 
trucks along an iron rod projecting one half to three 
quarters inch above the level of the carpet. "We began 
the operations by opening the family dining-table, and 
inserting two or three leaves, elongating it from about six 
to perhaps nine or more feet. I state this, as it allowed 
an eye to be kept, as to wires, etc. It had six legs, and 
was of such a weight, that when the castors were all in 
a right line for motion, I could with both my hands, 
and as strong a pull as my strength of fingers would 
allow, just put it in motion. 

" After an evening's performance of all the usual 
responses, motions of the table with hands upon it, with 
the fingers' ends just touched, etc., which were satisfactory, 
it was proposed, especially as the motions were unusu- 
ally facile and free with contact, to make the trial with- 
out touch. I was master of ceremonies, and directed 
things to suit my own views. We stood on the sides 
of the table, three and two, and back from it from 
twelve to eighteen inches. Our hands were raised 
above it about the same distance. As the table was 
rather low and my height is unusual, I was able to see 
between the bodies of all present and the table. We 
spoke as if we were addressing persons in reality, and 
once in a while we received remarks from the ' spirits ' 
as is assumed, the medium being 'impressed,' and 
writing on paper before her. 

" The table commenced its journey down the room, 
keeping midway, reached the iron crossing at the slid- 
ing doors, surmounted it and passed on. One of us 
ran and pushed away a centre-table in the middle of 
the other parlor, intending to allow as long a jour- 
ney as possible. It moved on, sometimes slowly, then 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 207 

with a rapid slide, a foot or two at once. At length 
it reached the end of the second parlor, as near as 
the mirror made it safe to go. I expressed my thanks 
to the ' spirits ' for the completeness of the manifesta- 
tion, and begged that they would gratify us by return- 
ing the table back to the point of beginning. It reversed 
its course. At a momentary halt, I suggested to the 
company that we should all gradually remove from it 
our bodies and hands, to see how far the ' influence ' 
would extend. It was found that when we withdrew 
more than about eighteen or twenty inches, the motion 
ceased. And indeed on returning, the capacity of 
motion seemed to be lost for three or four minutes after- 
wards, as if a certain accumulation of power were in 
progress. When the fore legs of the table reached the 
iron bar, it came to a dead stand. We waited, and the 
table heaved and trembled and creaked, but could not 
rise above the obstacle. Presently the medium was 
impressed, and wrote, that if we would lift those two 
legs over the iron, they, that is ' the spirits,' thought 
they could bring the other four along. We did not 
hesitate to afford the suggested aid. Whereupon the 
spirits succeeded in moving the whole on, without inter- 
ruption, until the table was as high up in the room from 
which it started as it was at commencing, but about 
four feet over from the central line at one side. I 
expressed my gratification at their success, but said, 
' there is one thing more I wish you to do — move the 
table at right angles, so that these chairs will be right to 
sit in, as they were at first.' The table immediately 
moved at right angles as desired, into the precise posi- 
tion designated. This evening's performance now 
closed, no person of us having the remotest doubt as to 
the fact of this considerable motion having taken place 



208 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

with no human power. The entire space passed over 
was about fifty feet." 

On this case we deem it important to make the fol- 
lowing observations : — 

(1.) Every circumstance which surrounds this case 
combines with every other, to remove it from the most 
distant suspicion of trick or fraud. 

(2.) The fact of the movement of heavy bodies with- 
out visible contact is most fully established, and will 
not be questioned by any who have not fully made up 
their minds to blindly follow the maxim practically, at 
least, adopted by David Hume, that the occurrence of 
no strange event can be established by testimony. 

(3.) Equally manifest is the fact, that this movement 
was immediately caused by an attractive and repulsive 
physical force developed in the organisms of the indi- 
viduals present, and the object before them. We bring 
an object called the magnet within a certain distance 
of another object, a piece of iron, for example, and the 
latter object is drawn towards and after the former. 
We remove the object to a somewhat greater distance, 
and the phenomena of attraction disappear. It is thus 
that the existence of magnetism, as a force in nature, is 
demonstrated. How was it in the case before us? 
The table moved, when and only when the hands of the 
individuals referred to were within a certain distance of 
it, and ceased to move, when they were removed to a 
greater distance. We have, then, in these movements, 
the same evidence of the presence and action of an 
attractive and repulsive physical force, that we have, or 
can have, of the existence of magnetism, as such a force. 

(4.) This force differs fundamentally from magnetism 
and electricity, and all other mere physical forces in 
nature, in this, that the direction of its action accords 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 209 

with acts of intelligence and will, and is determined by 
the same. How perfectly were all those movements con- 
formed to the mental states of the individuals consti- 
tuting that circle, and how perfectly manifest is it, that 
these movements were determined by the thoughts and 
wills of some minds within that circle, or without it. 
We can have but little, if any more, evidence, that 
our physical organisms act in accordance with our own 
mental states, and are directed, in many important par- 
ticulars, by the same, than we have that these move- 
ments were directed and controlled by the mental states 
and acts of some intelligences located somewhere, either 
in the circle or out of it. 

(5.) We have only to suppose the presence of a power 
having the very attractive, repulsive, and mentally direc- 
tive qualities which we see that this must have, together 
with the known mental states of the individuals constitut- 
ing this circle, to account most fully and satisfactorily 
for every fact that occurred there, and this without the 
supposition of any ab extra controlling cause what- 
ever. When Dr. Bell said, let the spirits move the 
table so and so, the thoughts of every mind present 
were fixed intensely upon that one movement, and the 
unconscious, but really united and strong fiat of every 
will was, let that movement be made. Instead of its 
being a cause of wonder that the phenomena did 
appear under those circumstances, it would have been 
a miracle if they had not occurred. We have no more 
occasion to go out of the circle, and suppose the inter- 
position of spirits to account for these facts, than we 
have to go out of our bodies, and suppose the interposi- 
tion of spirits, to account for the movements of our 
own physical organisms. 

(6.) Not a solitary ray of light is thrown upon any of 
18* 



210 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

these facts, by referring them to the agency of disem- 
bodied spirits. If spirits did do it, it must have been, 
by simply willing the motions which the individuals 
constituting the circles wished to have made. Why 
should we suppose, that such power attaches to the 
mental states of the former, and not to those of the lat- 
ter ? If the mental states of spirits out of the circle 
have such power, much more must we suppose, that 
those of minds in the organisms in which this force is 
developed, would have the same efficiency. The sup- 
position of the interposition of spirits, therefore, is the 
most uncalled for hypothesis conceivable, to account for 
these facts, an hypothesis which throws not a solitary 
ray of light upon one of them. 

(7.) Hence we remark, finally, that there is not in 
these facts, and if not in these, in none of the physical 
facts of Spiritualism, the least conceivable evidence of 
the controlling interposition and agency of spirits. 
The fact that the spirits were requested to move the 
table, and that it did move accordingly, as if in answer 
to such request, presents no such evidence at all ; for 
the two following reasons, that, as we have seen in 
other cases, the same movements would have occurred, 
had the object been commanded to move, and no refer- 
ence at all made to spirits, or if the same command had 
been given and the spirits challenged to prevent the 
movement. No such interposition is demanded to 
account for any of the facts, and they are, in all re- 
spects, what we know they could not but be, from the 
nature of the force developed, and from the relations of 
the minds present to the same. 

2. The facts developed by Dr. Bell fully sustain the 
claims of Spiritualism as far as concerns any questions 
pertaining to the real existence of a power to obtain, 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 211 

through mediums, a revelation of our most secret 
thoughts, and to obtain also, as from spirits, correct 
answers to any questions pertaining to any subjects 
known to the inquirer and to the spirits professedly 
communicating with him, however remote such knowl- 
edge may be from the cognizance of the mediums, or 
of any other persons present. No candid person, we 
feel quite safe in making the affirmation, can read 
these dissertations, without having every doubt re- 
moved from his mind, on this subject. We will give 
two examples. The first is contained in the following 
extract from the first dissertation : — 

" 1 asked, ' Is any spirit friend of mine present ? ' 
Answer, ' Yes.' i Who is it ? ' Answer, ' Any one you 
may choose to question! I certainly felt that this was a 
sufficiently broad latitude, and my mind instantly 
elected, as the object of my converse, a deceased 
brother, the late Dr. John Bell of New York city, be- 
cause he was entirely unknown to anybody in the 
section where I resided, having been dead nearly five 
and twenty years, and never having been a resident of 
Massachusetts. In fact, he left New England about 
1820. A gentleman at my elbow said to me, ' You 
need not speak the name of any friend you may call 
upon. Put your question mentally.' I did so, and 
then said, ' Is the spirit I have just thought of present ? ' 
Answer, ' Yes.' ' Give me some proof by indicating the 
year of your decease.' I passed the pencil secretly 
over the numerals, and the figures 1-8-3-0 were suc- 
cessively indicated (1830). This was the year. I then 
remarked aloud, ' Coincidences are not proofs, — Con- 
firm the fact of your presence by stating the place at 
which you were, at your decease.' There was then 
rapped out on the alphabet the letters, t-h-i-b-a-u-d-e-a-u. 



212 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

"When it had proceeded thus far, the medium and all 
the others acquainted with the processes, exclaimed, — 
4 That is no word ; it is a mere jumble of letters : Go 
back and recommence.' ' No,' said I, ' let him go on, 
and see what he will make of it.' The rapping con- 
tinued, — v-i-1-l-e, — forming the word Thibaudeauville, 
a small town in Louisiana, near which my brother 
lived on a plantation, and at which he received and 
sent his letters. The fact of his death at or near that 
place, could not have been known, probably, to any 
other person in Massachusetts except myself, and years 
had passed by since it had passed through my mind. 
The medium was an uneducated young girl, living in 
the city of Boston, unknown to me ; and the other 
parties present were three eminent clergymen, and the 
two gentlemen I have before referred to." 

The next is taken from the second dissertation, and 
must stand for many other cases recorded, of equal 
pertinency. 

" Recurring again to my own experience, I entered 
upon a series of six weekly examinations with the 
same medium and associates, whose names would be 
recognized as among the distinguished in literature and 
theology of this vicinity. Having already received 
evidence as I felt, (as detailed last year,) that I had 
obtained correct replies to mental questions, and that 
many things not possibly within the knowledge of any 
person present had been correctly given to me, I ar- 
ranged my plans, 1st. To verify this in full, and ascer- 
tain whether there was any thing known to me and a 
deceased person alone which could be reproduced. 2d. 
"Whether a correct reply could be got to any thing 
known, ex necessitate ret, to the spirit invoked, but not 
known to the questioner, as subsequent inquiry should 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 213 

demonstrate. I had, as I thought, a very complete test, 
to understand which I must go into a brief domestic 
narration. I had a brother, Dr. John Bell, (alluded to 
in my last year's experience,) who died in Louisiana in 
1830. He was settled in New York city as a medical 
practitioner. He was seized with Haemoptysis in 
1824, and as the celebrated Laennec, whose pupil he 
was, had some years previously diagnosed pulmonary 
disease, his case was regarded as highly critical. 
Abandoning at once the brightest prospects of profes- 
sional success, he decided to go to the South on horse- 
back. Mounting his animal, he first made a farewell 
visit to his friends in New England. I was at the time 
of his visit here, attending lectures at a country college, 
but learning that he would be in Boston about a certain 
date, I proceeded to that city. Arriving late at night, 
I could make no attempts to find him, but early the 
next morning, I set out to visit the various hotels, which 
were much crowded at that season, to meet with him. 
I succeeded in finding his name at what was known as 
the ' City Hotel.' On inquiring, I found that he had 
just settled his bill, and probably would be found 
about starting. I passed into the shed connecting the 
hotel and its stables, and there found him arranging 
his horse's stirrups, etc., preparatory to mounting to 
take his departure. I there had what I, and probably 
he, felt to be our last interview, and which in fact so 
proved, although his health was partially recovered, and 
he lived several years afterwards. This interview had 
always been very clearly recollected, and as I never had 
communicated it to any person, I had often remarked 
to my 'spiritual' friends, that if any medium could 
reproduce that occasion in its essentials, I would admit- 
that the spirit of my brother was present; indeed I 



214 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

must do so, because I could see no alternative. I may 
as well remark here, that I was too hasty in my logic, 
in proffering such admissions. At the first or second 
of the series of investigations, I was informed that the 
spirit of my brother would communicate. I took occa- 
sion to question him pretty thoroughly on such points 
as I thought none could know except myself or other 
immediate friends. I think the nature of the questions 
will leave no room for the suspicion that the medium, 
who was an entire stranger to us, and born since the 
events referred to, could have been ' crammed ' into an 
ability to answer correctly. I will give the questions and 
answers, observing that every one except the last, [given 
in another connection,] was perfectly correct and true. 

" Q. When you went to Paris, as a medical student, 
who was your fellow passenger? A. Wells. N. B. 
I had previously requested, as the communications 
were to be in the tedious alphabetical process, that he 
should reply in the briefest terms. A gentleman asked 
his Christian name. A. John D. Q. The name of 
the vessel ? A. Brig Caravan. Q. On that voyage 
to France, where did you land ? A. In Holland. N. B. 
At that date (1821) there was no direct French trade, 
and passengers were obliged to take circuitous passages. 
Q. You once obtained a medical prize : what was the 
subject? A. Smallpox. Q. Where was our last in- 
terview in life ? A. In Boston. Q. Where in Boston ? 
A. City Hotel. Q. What were you doing ? A. Pre- 
paring- to mount my horse for a journey. Q. A journey ! 
where? A. To the South. Q. What part of the 
South ? A. Natchez. Q. Who went with you ? A. 
James Dinsmore and Stephen Minor. 

" This Stephen Minor was a young gentleman of 
Natchez who had been sent north for an education, 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 215 

had become insane, and had been a resident for some 
years at the late Dr. Chaplin's private insane retreat at 
Cambridgeport. His friends took the opportunity of 
their going to Natchez to procure his return home. Mr. 
Dinsmore was a cousin of my brother's who remained 
with him at the South as long as he lived. I might 
observe that I am not conscious of this young man, 
Stephen Minor, having been in my memory for five 
and twenty years ! " 

We leave these cases to speak for themselves. Any 
persons, that in their presence, would deny the exist- 
ence of the power under consideration, would not be 
convinced by any facts or arguments bearing upon this 
subject. 

3. The facts adduced by Dr. Bell, while they most 
fully sustain his and our conclusion, that no valid evi- 
dence exists of a connection between the extraordinary 
facts of this new science and another world, or with 
departed spirits, the same facts as fully sustain the truth 
of our present proposition, the exclusively subjective and 
mundane origin of these manifestations. Two hypoth- 
eses are before us pertaining to the origin and controlling 
cause of these manifestations — the supposition that the 
action of this force is controlled, in their production, by 
the mental states of the minds in these circles — and 
that it is controlled by those of spirits out of the same. 
Suppose that we find these communications bounded 
wholly by the range and limits of the former, and not 
by those of the latter, being generally correct where the 
former is, erring where they err, even when the spirits 
cannot but know the truth; blundering where they 
blunder, varying as they vary, moving when and as 
they move, and stopping where and when they stop. 
In this case, all the laws and principles of science and 



216 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

common sense require us to affirm the truth of the first 
hypothesis. If, on the other hand, we find these com- 
munications uniformly harmonizing with facts as they 
are when they are mutually known to the inquirer and 
the spirits professedly answering; that when he errs, 
they accord with the facts as known to the spirits, and 
that when he is wholly ignorant, and the spirits are 
known to be well informed, the real facts, and not 
incorrect answers, are uniformly given, then we should 
be bound to adopt the latter hypothesis. We have 
already shown, that the phenomena of Spiritualism 
are just what they would be, were the former hy- 
pothesis true, and just what they could not be, if 
the latter was true. This conclusion is most fully 
sustained by the facts adduced by Dr. Bell. 

He affirms, in the first place, that during all his ob- 
servations and experiments, neither himself, nor any indi- 
viduals associated with him, were able to obtain, in a 
single instance, correct answers to any questions per- 
taining to subjects lying beyond the circle of their 
knowledge, and this when the questions pertained to 
facts of which the spirits manifestly answering, if any 
were, must have been fully informed, and could not 
have forgotten, or to subjects of which they might or 
might not, but positively affirmed themselves to have 
been well informed, and that in connection with cases 
where the most surprising accuracy was preserved in 
statements, where the truth was known to the inquirer. 
Take the following as an example. The spirit of an 
only sister of the Dr., who " had died and was buried in 
St. Augustine, East Florida, in 1830, and was a total 
stranger in this vicinity," responded on one occasion, 
and after having stated the place of her decease and 
burial, the following facts occurred. 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 217 

" I then asked, ' with whom did you board when at 
St. Augustine ? ' Mr. Wallen. True. ' What physician 
attended, you ? ' Dr. Samuel Anderson. The fact was, 
his name was Andrew. ' Who performed your funeral 
services 1 ' Mr. Nott. ' What was his other name ? ' 
Handel. Now the fact was, that among the many 
visitors for health at that city, was a New England cler- 
gyman of that name, who actually performed these 
services. These facts could be known to no other per- 
son but myself. I thought of them at the time, as the 
questions were put. I may remark, however, that I 
knew Dr. Anderson's Christian name, as well as I did 
my own. These were but a few of the many questions 
of a domestic nature which I put, and which were all 
answered correctly, the responses being all known to me. 

" I also made a series of inquiries, predicated on a 
previous arrangement with the family at home, by which 
every quarter of an hour they were to do some act, and 
I was simultaneously to ask what was doing. In every 
case, the spirit declared it saw distinctly what was 
doing, and gave a ready response. What was done, 
and what was said to be done, were acts of the same 
general nature, that is, putting the match in the bed, 
upsetting furniture, etc., but in no example was there 
any near coincidence." 

In cases also where a mistake existed in his mind, 
and the real facts were known to the spirit professedly 
answering, the answers, as in cases which we have 
already adduced, corresponded with the mistake of the 
inquirer, and not with the knowledge of the spirit. At 
the same time, while a spirit would be wholly unable to 
answer, while the facts remained unknown to the in- 
quirer, a right answer would be given at once, as soon 
as he became informed. The following extract, the first 

19 



218 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

part of which contains the remainder of the long com- 
munication which Dr. B. held as Avith the spirit of his 
brother, and the other part other important facts de- 
veloped in subsequent interviews, presents a full verifi- 
cation of each of the above statements. 

" Q. Who was with you at the time of your death ? 
A. Dinsmoor, Sears, Whitney. 

" Now I knew the true replies to every one of these 
questions, except the last, and they were all truly given. 
I had, of course, some anxiety, as all the others had 
been answered truly, to ascertain how the unknown one 
would prove. Fortunately Mr. D. was still alive in 
Kentucky, and I wrote him. He replied that he was 
not present at the death, as I had always supposed he 
was, and mentioned the persons who were. Neither of 
them was of those named ! 

" At another time, with another medium, this 
same brother appeared. As usual,, he replied to all 
common questions I could frame, by any ingenuity, the 
replies of which were within my mind. After a while I 
said, ' my brother, I have brought here two letters which, 
on leaving home, I slipped out of a file of old date, and 
put in my pocket without looking at them. Now as 
you have answered certain things here (alluding to a 
selection of certain rolled up pieces of paper) which 
show that if you really are present, you are capable of 
seeing clearly, I will unfold these letters behind me, and 
you will rap out alphabetically the names of the writers.' 
He replied that he could not do it. 

" I made trial again of this important test some weeks 
after, by holding letters open behind me, which I had 
drawn from my file unlooked at. I first asked the 
spirit if he saw me ' clearly and distinctly,' as we saw 
each other, face to face. He replied that he did. I 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 219 

then said, ' of course you can see and read this letter, or 
its signature, which I hold open behind me.' Some 
reply was made, a mere subterfuge, not ad rem ; some- 
thing about things being afterwards clear to me. I then 
cast my eye upon the signature, and saw who wrote 
the letter, and then remarked that I was now sure that 
we should get the name correctly, because it was in my 
own mind. The result proved the truth of my surmise." 
On a particular occasion, — we now relate what was 
given to us verbally, — the spirit of a son of Dr. B., a son 
who had died some time before while a student in col- 
lege, responded to a young man, a former associate and 
friend of the son. A very marked accuracy of memory, 
as far as related to things known to the inquirer, charac- 
terized the entire answers coming from this spirit, so 
much so, that the young man supposed that a mistake 
in regard to real presence and identity was hardly pos- 
sible, and so presented the subject to Dr. B. The father 
then wrote out twelve questions pertaining to facts well 
known to himself and son, but wholly unknown to the 
young man, and requested the latter to take the ques- 
tions with him to the circle, and when the spirit of the son 
should appear again, ask him to answer the same. This 
was done, and a prompt and unqualified response was 
given to each question. Not one of these answers was 
found to be correct, while the form of each was such as 
to render it certain, that it was a mere guess suggested 
by the question itself, thus evincing the truth of the 
principle above stated, that in all such cases, the an- 
swers will not only uniformly, if not invariably be wrong, 
but will accord with the imaginings and guesses of the 
person putting them, and not with the facts as known 
to the author of them, and to the spirit professedly re- 
sponding. 



220 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

Such are the principles which control these manifes- 
tations, the world over. The individuals who, in their 
presence, will still hold on to the belief, that their con- 
trolling cause is the mental states of spirits out of the 
circles, instead of the minds constituting them, we must 
" leave them alone in their glory." 

THE STATEMENTS OF DR. BELL CONFIRMED BY KINDRED 
ONES FROM N. I. BOWDITCH, ESQ. 

In the manuscript volume containing the above-named 
dissertations, is a letter from N. I. Bowditch, Esq., ad- 
dressed to Dr. Bell, on the subject discussed in those 
dissertations. From this letter we take, with leave, the 
following extract, containing very conclusive corrobora- 
tions of the general and particular statements of Dr. B. 
The character and standing of Mr. Bowditch, together 
with his well-known relations to spiritualism, will add 
much interest and weight to his facts and statements. 

" I have found my most successful sessions to be 
those where I was alone with the medium, or attended 
only by one friend. During the whole two hours I have 
had often entirely accurate answers to a series of mental 
questions, some of them such that the answer could not 
be known to any other human being than myself. 
For instance, I wrote certain lines as from a young girl, 
lately dead, to her father, describing her reunion with 
her deceased mother, the love they both bore him, etc. 
The answers gave the character of the paper, the num- 
ber of its lines, and, at my request, accurately repeated 
the last lines of the last stanza, namely, — 

' And while thy years of life shall last, 
Life's noblest ends still keep in view, 
By each dear memory of the past, 
To us, thyself, thy God, be true ' ' 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 221 

" I am satisfied, as you are, that the answers are ac- 
cording to our thought or belief, even if erroneous. On 
two different occasions, once when I was in communi- 
cation, a spirit gave its own name as William instead 
of Thomas, because I thought it was William. And, at 
another time, when a friend was in communication, a 
wife made the same mistake in her husband's name. 
My friend announced the mistake, as a gross failure. I 
suggested this disturbing influence, and shut up my 
eyes, while he tried the question again, and got the true 
name, Thomas. 

" A strong and determined will can also get answers 
known to be false. Dr. H. T. Bigelow went with me to 
Mrs. Heyden (while we used pencils). The letters 
touched by him would be negatived, (by single raps,) 
some of them five or six different times ; but after 
knocking at a particular letter over and over again, 
three raps would at last come. Having once come, 
Dr. B. would say, Are you sure that this is the right 
letter ? — three raps, or yes. In this way he compelled 
the spirit to say that its name was ' Miserable Hum- 
bug ' — that spirits lived on ' Pork and Beans,' etc., 
through a series of absurdities. Had I never been 
present at any other session, I should unhesitatingly 
have arrived at his conclusion ; namely, that the me- 
dium knew (by his loud and emphatic pointing and 
striking at particular letters) where the raps were 
wanted, and made them accordingly; and that it was 
all a delusion. 

" Like you I have failed, in a single case, to verify as 
true a fact stated which at the time was not in my 
own mind. On the contrary, time and time again, 
answers have been made, without any words of doubt 
or hesitation, which have proved to be false. Some- 

19* 



222 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

times, however, there has been a candid statement of 
inability to answer. I had asked mentally the number 
of my watch. It was given correctly, 5,763. Mr. S. 
G. Ward was present, and said aloud, ' Can you give 
the number of my watch ? ' Neither of us knew it. I 
repeated the question, and got, No. I said, ' Why ? ' 
The alphabet spelt out, ' / cannot do iV I said, ' If W. 
shows it to me, can you then repeat it ? ' ' Yes.' Mr. 
W. opened his watch under the table and showed me 
the number, and I at once got the true answer. Ex- 
cuses are sometimes made for palpable blunders. Thus 
the same young friend (dead only ten days before) gave 
Nathaniel Bowditch Mason instead of Alfred Mason, 
as the name of a young cousin who had died a few 
years before. The true name was known to me. I 
asked, ' How could you make such a mistake of name ? ' 
It was a mental question. The answer was, ' The fact 
is, I am so much absorbed in my new and beautiful 
home that I have almost forgotten my own name.'' " 

We make but two remarks upon the important facts 
and statements here presented : — 

(1.) The particular conclusion which the friend of 
Mr. B. drew from the ludicrous facts which he witnessed, 
was occasioned by the assumption, on his part, that 
those responses were produced by spirits, or by imposi- 
tion on the part of the medium. Had the third hypoth- 
esis been in his mind, he would undoubtedly, if well 
informed in regard to facts, have drawn the far more 
evident conclusion, that the action of this force was, in 
this case, governed by his own mental states, the suppo- 
sition that such answers could come from spirits, good 
or bad, being out of the question. 

(2.) The fact that such men as Dr. Bell and Esq 
Bowditch, in all the widely extended investigations 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 223 

which they have made, have never " been able, in a 
single case, to verify as true a fact stated, which was 
not in their mind at the time," goes very far to justify 
the very common opinion, that no such revelations are 
ever obtained in these circles. For ourselves, we have 
yet, to our best recollections, to meet with the first indi- 
vidual, not a spiritualist, who has himself obtained any 
such communication, or witnessed its occurrence, on 
the part of others. We still think, however, that such 
communications have, in instances exceedingly rare, 
been obtained, and that for the following reasons : — 

(a.) The evidence presented in such facts as are now 
before us, only render the non-occurrence of such com- 
munications probable, and not certain. 

(b.) We think that adequate evidence of their real 
occurrence, in the form stated, is before the public. 

(c.) From the analogy of facts attending the action 
of this force, in other relations, there ought to occur just 
such facts as are authentically reported to occur, in 
these circles, supposing no agency of spirits is ever 
exerted in them, and they ought to have the identical 
characteristics, and none others, that they do possess. 
For ourselves, we are rather embarrassed in the develop- 
ment of our theory, with the infrequency of such occur- 
rences, than with the real facts themselves, or with any 
of their characteristics. 

Mr. B. says, " I have found my most successful 
sessions to be those when I was alone with the medium, 
or attended only by one friend." The reason is obvi- 
ous. There were, in such cases, no other minds pres- 
ent, minds whose mental states would disturb the 
action of the odylic force, and whose thoughts would 
be, consequently, unconsciously intermingled with those 
of the inquirer. This fact strikingly corroborates the 



224 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

theory which we maintain. If spirits out of the body 
controlled the action of this force, it would make no 
difference how many living persons were in the circle. 



IMPORTANT FACTS FURNISHED BY A NEW ENGLAND 
CONGREGATIONAL CLERGYMAN. 

The last case which we cite was furnished us by a 
New England Congregational clergyman of unques- 
tionable integrity and intelligence, (names are with- 
held by special request,) and presents so many interest- 
ing features bearing fundamentally upon our present 
inquiries, that we would invite very special attention to 
it. It presents a number of facts which he witnessed 
in a circle of which, by mere accident, he became a 
member, he having in the course of a walk for a totally 
different object, called at the house of a friend whose 
daughter was one of his former pupils in an academy 
of which he had been for several years the principal, and 
was, as he learned, after he entered the house, a medium. 
A spirit circle was accordingly formed, consisting of the 
teacher, the father, mother, and daughter, the gentlemen 
sitting on one side of the table, and the ladies on the 
other. The following are the prominent facts developed 
during this sitting which continued upwards of four 
hours : — 

(1.) The same evidence of presence and identity, the 
same ability to read correctly our secret thoughts, to 
reveal names, and ages, and any events of the past as 
they one and all stood in the mind of the inquirer, was 
manifested by the spirit of brutes, and even of inanimate 
objects, as are, in any instances, manifested by the spirits 
of men. It was found, also, that the great central won- 
der of Spiritualism, one spirit going after an absent one 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 225 

and returning with him at a specified time agreed 
upon, could be perfectly paralleled by the spirit of the 
brute. The spirit of a certain animal, for example, was 
asked, if he could go and bring that of another that 
was named ? and answered, yes. He was told to do it, 
and be back again in just one and a half minutes by the 
watch. The instant the hand of the watch came over 
the right second, there was a rap to indicate the arrival 
of the spirit sent for. After affirming his actual pres- 
ence, he was asked, as proof of his identity, to give his 
age. The precise number, nineteen, existing in the 
mind of the inquirer, was promptly given by raps. 
It was subsequently found, that there was a mistake of 
several years in the answer given, thus most fully evinc- 
ing the fact, that the spirit of the brute fails precisely 
where and as that of man does. 

(2.) This clergyman, by observations and experiments 
about which there could be no mistake, found that he 
could exercise an absolute control over the action of this 
power in the medium. When, for example, she would 
attempt to write, she being a writing as well as rapping 
medium, he could, by simply willing it, while no one 
had the least suspicion of what he was doing, stop her 
hand entirely, cause it to move up and down, so that 
the pencil should make nothing but dots on the paper, 
and then cause her to go on with the writing as before. 

(3.) He also obtained the most palpable and conclu- 
sive evidence, that the medium was in a mesmeric state, 
that the other persons present sustained the precise re- 
lations to her, that the mesmerizer does to the person 
mesmerized. For example, having occasion to reach 
his hand across the table to a letter of the alphabet, as 
his hand came near that of the medium, hers was in- 
stantly forcibly attracted towards his, so that the end of 



226 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the pencil in her hand struck his with such violence as 
to leave a mark there, and to occasion some pain at the 
time. Recollecting that this was the first rude act that 
he had ever witnessed in her, he was led to look into 
her eyes and immediately discovered, from her appear- 
ance, that she was in a magnetic state. To verify that 
thought, he said to her, " your hand is fastened to the 
top of the table, and you can't take it off." The me- 
dium made every possible effort to withdraw her hand, 
but found it impossible to move it. " Now," says the 
minister, " your left hand must come up and be fastened 
by the side of the other." The medium declared, with 
the intensest excitement, that it should not be so. The 
hand, however, gradually came up, and when it came 
over the top of the table, descended upon it, as if sud- 
denly drawn down by a resistless attractive force. By 
no effort could she move either hand, till, by an act of 
will, he released her. By subsequent experiments, he 
found that her entire powers, mental and physical, were 
under his absolute control. Without any external sign 
whatever, for example, he simply willed, that she should 
turn round, and fix her eyes upon a picture that 
hung upon the wall of the room. Instantly she turned 
round and fixed her eyes upon the object referred to. He 
then willed, that she should look steadfastly at an object 
in the hands of her mother, and her eyes were instantly 
fixed in that direction. When asked why she looked at 
those objects, her answer was, that, at that time, she 
wanted to do it. He then merely willed that she should 
leave her chair and seat herself upon the sofa, and she 
did so. At one time, he made her weep at the thought 
that she had disobeyed her mother, nothing of the kind 
having occurred, and at another, made her think, that 
her own father was a rude and vulgar boy which she 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 227 

had before seen. As a last experiment, he wished to 
know, whether he could induce in her a mental percep- 
tion of an object of which he had a remembrance, but 
which was unlike any thing of which she had any 
knowledge. He recollected having seen, in Virginia, 
years before, a cedar tree about twenty feet high, a tree 
the boughs of which were in a corneal form, from near the 
ground to the top. The body of the tree was encircled 
by a trumpet vine, the blossoms of which, then in full 
bloom, completely covered it in all directions, just stand- 
ing out in the midst of its foliage. All together it was 
the most beautiful object that he had ever seen in the 
vegetable kingdom before. He consequently stopped 
for some time to look at and admire it. The medium, 
as he well knew, had never in her life seen a cedar tree 
of that species, nor such a vine, and especially the two 
combined as in this instance. Nor had she ever heard 
of his having seen such an object. He wished to know 
whether he could induce in her, and that without utter- 
ing a syllable himself about the object in his own mind, 
a mental perception of that object. He accordingly put 
a book into her hand, requesting her to look into that 
mirror, and tell him what she saw. The book immedi- 
ately became a mirror to her, and after looking into it a 
few moments, she exclaimed with the intensest delight ; 
" I never saw so beautiful an object in my life. It is a 
tree ; I never saw such a tree. It looks somewhat like 
a hemlock, and it is covered all over with beautiful flow- 
ers. They are shaped like a trumpet, and they are of 
an orange color. I never saw so beautiful an object in 
my life." Thus, he said, she described that before to 
her totally unknown and unheard of object, as dis- 
tinctly as 4ie could have done himself, so perfectly was 
his own purely mental conception reproduced in her 



228 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

mind, and that without a motion on his part to afford 
the remotest indication of the particular object of which 
he was thinking.* 

The reader will not be surprised to learn, that through 
these important and fundamental facts, the mysteries of 
Spiritualism stood distinctly revealed to the mind of this 
individual, and that from that time onward, he has had 
the most unwavering conviction, that the medium after 
all, is none other than a magnetic subject in whom the 
thoughts of those in the circles are, upon principles and 
laws purely natural, unconsciously reproduced, and 
for that reason, received as responses from spirits out 
of the circles. There is not a solitary phenomenon of 
Spiritualism which does not fall in with this view, and 
when rightly apprehended, does not affirm its truth. 
On the same principle, that the medium's hand was 
so powerfully attracted towards that of her teacher, the 
table itself, or any other object between which and her 
organism, the same force was developed in the same 
manner, would have followed her all round the room. 
Or, if it was developed between them, in different po- 
larity, then it would have fled from her in apparent 
terror, running violently against certain objects, and 
from others. If the same force, as in some instances, 
was developed in still greater power, then there would 
have been a sensible jarring of surrounding objects, and 
rumbling sounds, as of distant thunder, or the far-off fir- 
ing of ordnance. The medium was undeniably, at the 
same time that she was a writing and rapping medium, 
in a clairvoyant state. Suppose, that like the mesmeric 



* Since writing the above, we have read the same to the individual 
from whom the facts were derived, and he indorses the whole as un- 
qualifiedly correct. 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 229 

subject of J. M. Brook, Esq., she had also, as might 
have been the case, possessed the power of indepen- 
dent clairvoyance which that subject possessed. Then, 
while the thoughts of those who were present were 
reproduced in her, and embodied, as spirit voices in her 
communications, there would have been mingled with 
these the revelation of certain facts perceived by her, 
on purely natural principles, at the moment, facts 
unknown to any present, and all together presented, as 
from spirits. Thus we have the new information which 
is sometimes obtained in these circles, — revelations 
none of which present the least indication of the pres- 
ence and agency of spirits, but all of which are per- 
fectly explicable upon purely natural principles. 

A passing remark is deemed requisite, in this connec- 
tion, upon a fact noticed by Dr. Bell and others, as 
peculiarizing these revelations, the fact, that the thought, 
and not the language of the inquirer is commonly 
embodied in them. In general it is, as in the mental 
perception of the tree above presented, the thought only 
that is reproduced in the medium's mind. Sometimes, 
but not generally, both the thought and language are 
reproduced. This accords with the statements of spirit- 
ualists themselves. They affirm, that as a general 
thing, it is only the thought of the spirit which is 
uttered, (they supposing the revelation to be from 
spirits), the language in which it is clothed being that 
of the medium. 

11. We now call attention to a certain class of false 
answers which are continuously given forth in these cir- 
cles. Of the false answers in general here obtained, 
we will speak in another place. We now refer to a 
particular class only, a class to which we have already 
alluded, namely, the continuous occurrence of false 

20 



230 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

answers to questions pertaining to subjects well known 
both to inquirers and to the spirits professedly com- 
municating, and in respect to which a failure of memory, 
or inadvertent mistake on the part of spirits, is not sup- 
posable. The following statement of Dr. Bell, is but 
the embodiment of the constant experience and observa- 
tion of every one, as far as our knowledge extends, who 
has had any considerable personal experience in the 
spirit circles : — 

" The ' spirits ' of your friends, while they announce 
to you many most extraordinary facts and truths, even 
in reply to unspoken questions, fail in many others, 
where you cannot yield them the charity of having for- 
gotten, or being in ignorance. I do not now allude to 
the silly tests which many very sagacious persons have 
put, such as complex questions in mathematics, or in 
far-off dialects, as if spirits were presumed to be omni- 
scient, or in relation to future events, as if they had the 
gift of foreknowledge! I mean that when you test 
your deceased relatives, while they are most free in 
expressing advice, etc., to you, — with such simple ques- 
tions as involve a recognition of the most marked events 
of your mutual knowledge, they constantly fail." 

Now we affirm that such facts cannot be accounted 
for, in accordance with any laws of mind known to us, 
on the supposition that these communications proceed 
from intelligent beings, good or bad,*\vho are holding 
intelligent communication with us, and who know 
whereof they affirm. Much less can they be accounted 
for, on the supposition, that they come from the particu- 
lar class of departed spirits from whom they professedly 
proceed. No such facts characterize any forms of inter- 
course between any class of minds in the body. We know 
very well, that the worst liars on earth do not thus fal- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 231 

sify. Much less did our venerated parents, when with 
us in the flesh, as their assumed spirits now do, contin- 
uously falsify in regard to subjects well known to us 
and to them, and when they well knew that the falsehood 
must be at once detected. Never did such answers come 
to us from them, when they were with us. How then 
can we suppose, that such answers proceed from their 
spirits, when they come to visit and communicate with 
us, from their " angel's home ? " It is impossible to ac- 
count for such communications, even on the supposi- 
tion that these communications generally are from 
fallen spirits. Devils even would not thus falsify. 

On the other hand, if these communications are the 
unconscious echoes of our own thoughts, they could 
not but have these very characteristics. We ask a 
question, for example, and then before the answer is 
given, turn our thoughts in some other direction. If 
the responses follow the current of our thinking at the 
moment, and are determined by the same, then a wrong 
answer will be obtained of course, and just the kind of 
answer that is obtained. 

It is upon this one supposition, only, that we can, by 
any possibility, account for the facts before us. A 
brother, as we have stated in another connection, asks 
the spirit of a sister to give the name of their father, 
which is John, for example, and before the answer 
comes, his thoughts happen, by the laws of association, 
to be turned upon that of their brother, which is 
Thomas. If the answer is determined by the thought 
in the inquirer's mind, at the moment, then Thomas, 
the name of the brother, and not John, that of the 
father, will be given, of course. This is the precise 
character of the false answers continuously given forth 
as by the spirits in these circles. We say that such 



232 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

facts cannot be accounted for, but upon the supposi- 
tion, that these communications proceed not from 
spirits, but that they are the unconscious product of the 
wandering thoughts of the inquirers themselves. We 
are perfectly certain, that spiritualists will never account 
for the facts before us, in accordance with their theory. 
12. We now refer to a class of experiments 
which individuals have made for the purpose of deter- 
mining, not only the location of this cause, but of 
ascertaining the kind and extent of control they could 
exercise over it. It is well known that no spirits, good 
or bad, will voluntarily render themselves the objects of 
the contempt and ridicule of those over whom they 
desire to retain a controlling influence, as the spirits 
undeniably do over the minds of men in this world. 
Yet we find, among these communications, numberless 
responses obtained for the express purpose of determin- 
ing, in the first instance, how far they can be controlled, 
and, in the next, of rendering the whole subject ridicu- 
lous. If spirits also respond to inquiries drawing 
forth such responses, they must do it with a perfect 
knowledge of the designs of the inquirers, and of the 
tendency of the answers given to their questions. By 
no laws of mind can we account for responses given to 
questions which are put for such a purpose, and when 
the answers must be known to be adapted, most per- 
fectly so, to secure the intended result and none other. 
Let us consider a few facts of this class, examples of 
which are everywhere occurring in these circles. The 
case of the gentleman in Boston, to whom the spirit 
communicating revealed himself under the name, Mis- 
erable Humbug, and affirmed that spirits in the celestial 
spheres live on pork and beans, and all this in accord- 
ance with a previous determination in the inquirer's 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 233 

mind, is already before our readers, and is a case now 
in point. Let us consider another case of a similar 
character. When Mrs. Fish was in the State of Ohio, 
she visited the village of Hamilton for the purpose of 
multiplying disciples, not to hint a pecuniary motive. 
Her success, for a time, was wonderful, all who entered 
the circles being convinced. At length, some ten indi- 
viduals agreed together to determine, by an experiment, 
what answers could be obtained from the spirits. 
They accordingly framed their questions and answers 
beforehand, and agreed upon a mode of questioning, 
which would not awaken the suspicions of the medium. 
The departed spirit which responded to the first in- 
quirer, gave his name as " the devil," affirmed himself 
to have been dead for two years, and to sustain to the 
inquirer the relation of uncle. The departed spirit 
which responded to the next inquirer, was that of our 
informant, who was then in the circle. This spirit had 
been dead for six months, and died of hydrophobia. 
By this time, some of the circle found it impossible 
to restrain their laughter, when Mrs. Fish remarked, 
that the spirits were probably lying to the inquirers. 
On being informed of what had transpired, the circle 
was broken up ; and the next morning she left the place. 
Who can believe, that if intelligent minds stood behind 
this power, and directed its action, they would suffer 
themselves to be thus trifled with, and would lend 
their own voluntary agency to render themselves the 
objects of deserved contempt and ridicule ? Yet " the 
spirits," in any circle on earth, will as readily respond 
to such questions as to any others, and will become, 
when the inquirer wills it, and has presence of mind 
and self-command sufficient to carry out his purposes, 
the agents of their own infamy or contempt. No 

20* 



234 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

limits can be set to the extent to which this power 
can be used for such purposes. Now, we say, that 
depravity itself never assumes such forms, and by 
no laws of mind can we account for such communi- 
cations coming from disembodied spirits, either good or 
bad. If, on the other hand, our theory is true, nothing 
else could be expected. Just such phenomena, in that 
case, would appear, and in the very form in which they 
now present themselves, and upon no other hypothesis 
can such facts which, in legion forms, everywhere pre- 
sent themselves in these circles, be explained. 

Since the child, in the family to which we have re- 
ferred, became a medium, and since the communication 
from the spirit of a living person, supposed by them at 
the time to be dead, was obtained, the members of the 
family have been accustomed to amuse themselves by 
seeing what absurd communications they can obtain, as 
illustrations of the absolute control which they can 
exert over this mysterious power. The following may 
be stated as the results of their experiments and observa- 
tions, and we have had an opportunity to converse with 
the family every week, since these phenomena appeared, 
which was at or near the commencement of the present 
year. (1.) Any spirits will answer that they choose to 
call up. (2.) Any answers can be obtained from any 
spirits, that they will mentally conceive of, and choose 
to have rapped or written out. (3.) They now obtain, 
as a general fact, absurd and ridiculous answers, an- 
swers indorsed by odd names, because they choose to 
have such and no others, the answers and names always 
according with their previous choice. (4.) Nothing is, 
or can be more manifest to their minds, than the fact, 
that they themselves, and not spirits out of the body, 
control this force, in all the answers which they obtain. 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 235 

(5.) That control has remained just as absolute, since 
they came to this conviction, as before ; since they have 
utterly repudiated the doctrine of Spiritualism, as when 
they were sincerely inquiring whether it was true or not. 
A daughter of ours, when present on one occasion, 
without having said any thing at all, while the force 
was being developed, willed secretly, for the very pur- 
pose of illustrating to her own mind the fact, that per- 
sons in the circles and not spirits out of it, are the real 
causes of these manifestations, that her own name 
should be written out by the medium. Her name came 
out accordingly, the moment his hand was moved. We 
repeat, that it is wholly unaccountable that spirits either 
good or bad should lend their own agency, not only to 
render themselves ridiculous, but to disprove their own 
agency, in phenomena which, if Spiritualism is true, 
they wish to have all the world understand, they alone 
can produce. 

13. We now invite very special attention to the testi- 
mony and experience of intelligent persons who have 
themselves been mediums. Facts derived from this 
source must be regarded as most decisive in their bear- 
ings, because such persons have had the best opportuni- 
ties for examination ; and when they have come to the full 
conclusion, that phenomena presented through them, are 
produced by exclusively mundane causes, their opinions 
and statements must be deserving of the greatest con- 
sideration. Among the cases falling under this class, 
we notice the following : — 

We are well acquainted with a very intelligent gen- 
tleman, for example, through whom, when the proper 
conditions are fulfilled, all the phenomena of the spirit 
rappings can at any time be obtained. He says that he 
has no conception, that these phenomena are connected 



236 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

at all with any ab extra spirit agency, and that for this 
reason, that when it is known what answer should be 
given to any question proposed, the true answer will 
uniformly be given, and when this is not known, the 
answer will be right or wrong, just as it happens. These 
are the uniform characteristics of these communications 
everywhere. If the inquirer or medium knows what 
the answer should be, it will be generally right. In all 
other cases, it has the characteristics of the most uncer- 
tain guessing. What facts can with certainty identify 
any communications as being wholly earthly, and not at 
all ab extra spiritual in their origin, if these do not ? 

We met recently a very intelligent lady who had been 
a medium, and who had presented such communica- 
tions as to convince an aged atheist among others, of 
the reality of spiritual existences. To us she remarked, 
that when she first became subject to these influences, 
she had no doubt whatever of their ab extra spiritual 
origin, so unconscious was she of any agency of her 
own in their production. But when she narrowly 
watched her own mental operations, and marked the 
perfect and regular correspondence between these phe- 
nomena and her own prior mental states, she was led to 
doubt the whole system of Spiritualism altogether. If 
all mediums were thus self-reflective, and thus hon- 
est, they would all, we venture to affirm, come to the 
same conclusion. 

A scientific physician in the State of Michigan, who 
has, for a long period, been a writing medium, has, after 
similar observations and experiments, come to the same 
conclusion. There is a mystery about the subject, as he 
stated to our informant, President Fairfield of the Free- 
will Baptist College in that State, which he has never 
been able to explain. Yet the facts taken together, pre- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 237 

eluded wholly the idea of their spirit origin. They 
are too puerile, too self-contradictory, and lawless in 
their character to admit of any such supposition. 

The following case we cite from Rogers's Philosophy 
of Mysterious Rappings. On many accounts it pos- 
sesses much interest : — 

" Now take the following case, the like of which we 
have seen in several other instances : Jane A. D., daugh- 
ter of a physician, had become a ' writing and tipping 
medium,' and could obtain slight responses by the 
sounds. She believed herself to be a ' medium ' for 
communications from a deceased cousin, who, with her- 
self, had been passionately fond of poetry. Jane car- 
ried on these communications by herself for some time, 
for her own satisfaction, but mostly as a writing 
medium. She had not, after some few of the first com- 
munications, the slightest doubt of the reality of all 
this being the work of a pure spirit, until the following 
circumstance took place. A communication was made 
of a beautiful stanza of poetry, from what purported to 
be the spirit of her young friend, and was declared as 
original. Jane was so much delighted with the remark- 
able circumstance, and with the perfect sweetness of 
the lines, that she took them to her father and related 
the circumstances. He saw that the style of hand- 
writing was that of his daughter's late friend, and was 
greatly amazed at the mystery. The fact of the iden- 
tity of the handwriting was not, indeed, to be ques- 
tioned; and since he knew his daughter to be truthful 
every way, he determined to examine into the wonder- 
ful phenomena. The following evening was, therefore, 
spent in experiments and conversation upon the sub- 
ject. Every thing was, however, to be kept pro- 
foundly secret in the family, as there was so much said 



233 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

in derision of the 'rappers.' 'That night,' says Jane, 
' while I was dwelling on those beautiful lines, and my 
heart was swelling with joy, that my own dear parents 
had become interested in the phenomena, it flashed 
across my mind that I had either heard or read the same 
lines before, somewhere. But I did not wish to think so, 
and yet I desired to know the truth. It, at last, ap- 
peared to me, fresh in my memory, the very place where 
and when, I had read it. It was while alone and lonely, 
just after the setting of a beautiful September sun, and 
the. lines were from that sweet poem of Longfellow, 
' The Footsteps of Angels.' 

' Uttered not, yet comprehended, 
Is the spirit's voiceless prayer, 
Soft rebuke, in blessings ended, 
Breathing from her lips of air.' " 

No one can wonder, that the confidence of this 
medium and that of her friends, in the doctrine of 
Spiritualism, was utterly shaken by such an occurrence. 
This communication was, undeniably, exclusively mun- 
dane in its origin, and yet it bore upon its face, all the 
evidence of an exclusively spirit origin that any other 
does, or can do. It came as from a spirit. It was 
positively affirmed by that spirit whose integrity could 
not be doubted, to have been original, and it was given 
in the handwriting, not of the medium, but of the indi- 
vidual whose spirit professedly originated it, and 
directed the hand that wrote it. The medium, too, had 
no consciousness, at the time, that any thought pre- 
existing in her own mind, had any thing to do with the 
subject. This single case, therefore, utterly annihilates 
the highest evidence ever adduced by spiritualists in 
proof of the spirit origin of these manifestations ; for it 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 239 

embodies the most fundamental facts which they ever 
do adduce for this end. At the same time, it presents 
the most conclusive proof of the truth of the opposite 
theory, that which we maintain as the only true one. 

A few weeks since, we met with an intelligent clergy- 
man, one to whom we have already referred in another 
connection, of the Episcopal Church, who has, for some 
years, had the phenomena of table-moving and other 
spirit manifestations in his own family, himself, wife, 
and daughter, together being mediums. When these 
phenomena first appeared in his family, he sincerely 
believed in their real spirit origin, and supposed that 
they could be reduced to scientific principles. After the 
most careful and extensive experiments and observa- 
tions, however, he had come to precisely the opposite 
conclusion. In questioning any spirit, for example, 
some responses appear to indicate his actual presence. 
Others which arise in the same connection, however, 
utterly preclude such a supposition, the supposition, too, 
that they do or can come from any intelligent minds 
out of the body, the communications, from whatever 
minds apparently proceeding, being often so utterly pue- 
rile, self-contradictory, and lawless in their character. If 
there is in nature, he remarked, a nerve fluid whose action 
accords with our mental states, and commonly with the 
ordinary random thoughts which run off from the sur- 
face of the mind, and these manifestations are the result 
of such action, they would, in that case, be just what I 
have found them to be. Now we affirm, without fear 
of contradiction, that a more striking and accurate de- 
scription of the character of these manifestations, can, 
by no possibility, be given, and this is most manifestly 
their real cause. The facts preclude any other supposi- 
tion. 



240 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

Of a precisely similar character and bearing is the 
following fact, which we find in the North American 
Review. " We are confirmed in our belief of the sub- 
jective character of these phenomena by a conversation 
with a highly respectable clergyman, who a few years 
ago, to his own surprise found himself a writing 
medium, and was, for many months, in the frequent 
habit of writing under this singular influence, without 
premeditation, often without knowing what he was in- 
diting, or whose name he was going to sign. He at 
first fell into the popular notion, but became gradually 
convinced, by the incongruity and absurdity of much he 
wrote, and by the dreamlike character of the whole, 
that he had been putting upon paper, not the behests of 
unseen spirits, but the results of some unexplained mode 
of his own consciousness." 

We adduce but one additional fact connected with 
the class under consideration. A venerable lady, Mrs. 
C, of the Society of Friends, in Rhode Island, herself 
a medium, and who had, for a long time, been a most 
devoted spiritualist, requested Hon. Mr. B., a member of 
Congress, whose wife, the sister of Mrs. C, had died 
some time before, to sit with her at a table, and receive 
communications from the spirit of their departed friend 
and endeared relation. Mr. B., though an unbeliever in 
Spiritualism, of course, complied with the request, and 
for an hour or two, held a very interesting conversation 
apparently with the spirit referred to. At length Mr. 
B. asked the following question : " What did you do 
with those letters which passed between us before our 
marriage, letters which I committed to your care some 
eight or ten years ago, and you promised to preserve ? 
I have searched for those letters in every place where I 
can even imagine them to be, and have not been able to 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 241 

find them. What did you do with them ? " "I burned 
them," was the reply received. " Why did you do that ? " 
" I thought that no good would come from preserving 
them," was the reply, " and therefore burned them. 
And now, as I assure you, that I love you as truly and 
ardently as I did, when with you in the body, you will 
not regret that I burned those letters." Subsequently 
those letters were found carefully preserved, as promised. 
The faith of Mrs. C. in Spiritualism itself was of course 
terribly shocked, when this fact was made known. The 
conversation referred to presented all the evidence 
of real spirit intercourse, that can be presented in any 
case whatever, and no spirit could be identified, if that 
of her sister was not, on that occasion. Yet the known 
character of her sister utterly precluded the supposition 
that such a reckless falsehood could proceed from her 
spirit. On the other hand, if the thoughts of the hus- 
band really determined the answer obtained, its charac- 
ter was accounted for, and this was the only explanation 
which the facts of the case admitted. How any indi- 
vidual, in the presence of such facts, can remain a spir- 
itualist, is to us a greater mystery, than is involved in 
any of the so called spirit manifestations of which we 
have ever heard. 

14. There are forms of disagreement and contradiction 
among these communications, which are utterly incom- 
patible with the idea of their spirit, and equally demon- 
strative of their exclusively mundane origin. Differences 
of opinion do, on certain subjects, as we well know, obtain 
among men in the flesh, and, for aught that we know, 
may obtain among disembodied spirits. There are 
certain subjects, however, on which minds in the same 
locality never differ. There is no dispute in this coun- 
try, for example, in regard to any such question as this, 

21 



242 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

Whether Boston or New York is located on the Atlan- 
tic or Pacific coast. It is upon precisely similar ques- 
tions pertaining to the spirit world, that an irreconcil- 
able difference of opinion does obtain among " the 
spirits." In regard to the location of the spirit circles, 
for example, the mode of living and intercourse among 
spirits, their relations to other worlds, the character of 
spirits, whether all are good or not, whether evil spirits 
return to virtue, or eternally progress in sin and misery, 
— in regard to all such subjects, about which spirits can 
no more differ than living men can differ about the 
question, whether grain harvests, in these northern lati- 
tudes, come in summer or winter, the most contradictory 
and irreconcilable accounts are given by " the spirits," 
and by spirits, too, of the highest orders that ever 
speak to us in these communications. In a spirit cir- 
cle, in the city of Cleveland, for example, the spirit of 
Dr. Channing affirmed absolutely, Mrs. Fish being the 
medium, that there are no evil spirits at all in eternity, 
and that there is no unhappiness there, that when " the 
body dies, propensity to evil dies with it, and that all 
of man progresses in happiness." In the same circles 
another spirit equally reliable, affirmed, with equal 
absoluteness, that while the good, in eternity, " eter- 
nally progress in goodness," " the evil eternally pro- 
gress in evil." A similar difference and contradiction 
obtain on all subjects whatever about which the spirits 
communicate. Let any one read the accounts given 
by the spirits of Paine and others, and in the publica- 
tions of Judge Edmonds, about the spirit circles, and 
he will perceive at once that here are contradiction** 
which could not obtain among minds speaking from 
personal knowledge, — - the subjects being of such a 
nature that there can be no motive to deceive, and no 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 243 

essential difference of opinion in regard to them, among 
minds speaking from such knowledge. Just such a 
diversity, however, could not fail to obtain, did these 
communications contain nothing but the reflections of 
human opinions on these subjects, and were they 
caused by the same. 

15. The last class of facts which we adduce, are the 
numberless false communications which are continu- 
ously received in these circles, communications pertain- 
ing to subjects of which we cannot suppose " the 
spirits " to be ignorant, and in respect to which it is 
the height of absurdity to suppose they would inten- 
tionally convey false information, or to subjects about 
which they would not make positive affirmation if not 
well informed. Even men in the flesh do not falsify 
without a motive, and especially when they cannot but 
know that their falsehoods will soon be revealed. Now 
" the spirits " have not the common prudence of de- 
ceivers among men, in the particulars under consid- 
eration. They often, as is well known, give false 
information in respect to subjects of which it is absurd 
to suppose them ignorant, and where the error, as real 
spirits must be aware, will not fail, in a very short 
time, to come to light. We cannot but know that 
truthful spirits will not make such communications. 
They will not profess a knowledge of that of which 
they are ignorant. They will not assert as true what 
they know to be false, nor make positive assertions, 
when they cannot but know that they should profess 
nothing but uncertain guessing. Nor will lying spirits 
do the same, when they cannot but be aware that their 
attempted deceptions will soon be detected, and confi- 
dence in their communications will thereby be annihi- 
lated. Precisely such communications as these are 



244 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

continuously given forth in these circles. A friend of 
ours, for example, once requested a medium who was 
then under the immediate control of " the spirits," as 
much so as any medium ever is, or professes to be, to 
ask "the spirits" how many gas-burners were then 
burning in the room where they were at the time. " I 
do not know," said our friend, " and keep your own 
head down, so that you will remain ignorant of the 
real number." On being asked by the medium, " the 
spirits " gave the number as four. After being re- 
quested to decide with perfect deliberation, they ad- 
hered to the number first given. The true number was 
found to have been five. The medium, who had been 
a professed Christian, had just before said, that he had 
given up faith in the Scriptures, to follow the higher 
light of Spiritualism. There, said our friend to him, 
you have rejected that blessed book which has been 
the light and consolation of the good, in all ages, to 
follow spirits who, when put to the test, cannot count 
five. 

One of the test experiments made by the gentleman 
in Cleveland, the gentleman to whom we referred in 
another connection, was the following : "While a circle 
was being held in an upper room, an individual present 
was requested to go below, and collect in a particular 
place named, any number of individuals, from those 
known to be in the lower part of the house, that he 
should choose. When he had been gone a sufficient 
time, the spirits were requested to give the number of 
individuals and their names, who were in the place 
agreed upon. Five names were rapped out. On 
inquiry, it was ascertained, that but two individuals 
were there. Such questions, the spirits are everywhere 
and always ready to respond to, and for the most part, 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 245 

in doing so, are equally successful, in betraying their 
ignorance and folly. Now, we affirm, from the known 
laws of universal mind, that no spirits good or bad 
would ever give forth such responses as these. They 
would, in such cases, not answer at all, or give only 
correct answers. Yet precisely such communications 
would, without fail, be obtained, if our theory were 
correct. 

In some cases, " the spirits " betray a degree of igno- 
rance, or forgetfulness, which indicates progression in 
any direction, rather than towards higher and higher in- 
telligence. Some years ago, for example, the whole 
realm of spirits seemed to have concentrated their efforts 
upon converting to the faith one of our leading editors. 
He was overwhelmed with spirit communications, 
urging and entreating him to embrace the new doctrine. 
The spirits compelled the medium to write, and would 
then give her no rest, till their communications through 
her were forwarded. At length a series of communica- 
tions were sent him, each signed, " Your uncle." As he 
could call to mind no such relative who had died, he 
requested the medium to ask his uncle to give him his 
name in the communication next presented. The spirit, 
however, had forgotten his own name. 

We will give but one additional illustration. Some 
years ago, while the people of this country were in pain- 
ful suspense in regard to the fate of an ocean steamer, the 
Atlantic, and when " hope deferred had made the heart 
sick" upon the subject, an individual who was desirous 
of crossing the ocean, and who shrank from doing it, 
while in doubt of the fate of that vessel, entered a 
spirit circle to obtain the desired information upon the 
subject. He was a most confirmed believer in " the 
spirits," and is, as we are informed, to this day. He 

21* 



246 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

inquired of " the spirits " if they could inform him of 
the state of that vessel. They positively affirmed that 
they could, and then stated absolutely that, after being 
destroyed by a terrible conflagration, it had gone to the 
bottom of the ocean with all on board, with two or 
three exceptions. These had escaped in a boat, and 
would probably survive to tell the tale of the terrible 
disaster. We have all the evidence that this commu- 
nication came really and truly from " the spirits " that 
we have that any do. It was obtained in the same 
circumstances, through the same instrumentality. That 
it did not come from truth-telling ones is self-evident. 
That it came not from lying spirits is almost equally 
manifest from the principles stated above. This last 
supposition also totally annihilates all confidence in any 
spirit communications whatever. The inquirer was in 
a perfectly honest state of mind. He wished to know the 
truth on the subject, whatever it was, and nothing else. 
If one honest inquiry may be answered by a lying 
spirit, all may be, and all these revelations may be noth- 
ing but " doctrines of devils." The supposition is alto- 
gether inadmissible, therefore, that real disembodied spir- 
its of any character had any thing at all to do "with such 
a communication. This supposition, however, destroys 
all -evidence that any of these phenomena whatever 
proceed from " the spirits," for this has all the evidence 
of such an origin that any of them have. Apply this 
principle to the positive affirmations which are continu- 
ously made by " the spirits " in these circles, and the 
supposition of their ab extra spiritual origin is rendered 
demonstrably false. They are affirmations which truth- 
ful spirits cannot, and lying spirits would not, make. 
On the other hand, they are precisely such affirmations 
as we should suppose would be made in these very cir- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 247 

cumstances, were they unconsciously produced by the 
individuals constituting the circles, and not by spirits 
out of them. They pertain to subjects about which 
the inquirers desire to be, and suppose that "the 
spirits " are informed, and the answers accord with the 
mental states, the hopes, fears, opinions, or guesses of 
those who inquire of them. We must, we repeat, re- 
ject the supposition that this class of affirmations has 
an ab extra spirit origin. Yet the same conclusion 
which thus forces itself upon us, destroys wholly all 
evidence that any of these so called spirit revelations 
have such an origin, for all are given forth in the same 
circumstances and are attended with the same identical 
evidence of an ab extra spiritual origin. How any in- 
telligent persons can sit in these circles and witness 
the numberless positive affirmations which are there 
made, affirmations so many of which are known at the 
time by persons present, and if not then known, soon 
after ascertained to be false, and yet suppose that real 
ab extra spirits have any thing to do with these commu- 
nications, is to us a mystery more inexplicable far than 
is involved in any question pertaining to the origin of 
these phenomena. A moment's reflection will convince 
any one that truthful spirits would not, and could not, 
give such false answers. They would not, we repeat, 
profess knowledge when they were ignorant, nor make 
positive affirmations when they were only guessing, and 
not very prudently at that. Nor would lying spirits make 
the same affirmations, unless, a case not supposable, 
their object was to unmask their character as superla- 
tive liars, and thus destroy all confidence in their own 
communications. Yet these very communications or 
none others must be received as coming from "the 
spirits ; " for all transpire in the same circumstances, and 



248 MODERN MYSTEEIES. 

are attended with precisely the same evidence of an ab 
extra spiritual origin. 

We here draw our argument, on this point, to a close. 
To our mind, the facts which we have adduced, facts 
the reality of which cannot be disproved, and will not, 
we judge, be denied, clearly and unmistakably locate 
the cause of these phenomena, however mysterious in 
themselves, within this mundane sphere, and as clearly 
and unmistakably exclude the supposition, that that 
cause is any ab extra spiritual agency. We leave the 
subject with the reader, with the calm assurance, that 
our facts will not be denied, nor our arguments invali- 
dated, nor our conclusions rejected. 



CHAPTER II. 

TENDENCY OF SPIRITUALISM. 

In discussing the question next in order, the tendency 
of Spiritualism, we assume, 1st, that we have shown 
incontestably, that all the so called spirit manifestations 
may be satisfactorily accounted for, by a reference to 
exclusively mundane causes, and that to refer the same 
to any ab extra spirit cause or causes, is consequently a 
violation of all the principles of science and common 
sense bearing upon the subject; and, 2d, that by argu- 
ments equally incontestable, we have proven, that these 
manifestations are, in fact, produced by mundane and 
not ab extra spirit causes. The question of origin 
being thus disposed of, we now advance to a consider- 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 249 

ation of that of tendency. This spirit movement is, no 
doubt, progressive, and progression is the great theme 
of its advocates. The question before us is, the direc- 
tion of this movement. Progression may be in the 
direction of evil as well as good, — of darkness, igno- 
rance, superstition, and even of idiocy, as well as up- 
ward and onward towards higher light, and more 
perfect forms of thinking and action. The question, 
whence a thought originates, is not so important as 
this : what is its character ? The tendency of Chris- 
tianity depends more fundamentally upon what is 
intrinsic in the truths which it reveals, than upon the 
mere fact of their origin; though mental harmony 
with the truth, and faith in its divine origin, are indis- 
pensable to its highest efficiency. Suppose that in 
" the spirit land," as well as, in this world, there are 
myriads of idiotic minds, liars, and villains, and that 
they have found out a mode of communicating with man- 
kind. Is the mere fact, that spirits are communicating 
with us, any reason why we should heed their commu- 
nications, and frame our systems of belief, in regard 
to time, or eternity either, in accordance with their 
teachings ? We are not to believe every spirit out of 
the body, any more than every spirit in the body. All 
spirits alike are to be tried by the same tests. The 
remarks which we have to make on the topic now 
before us, will be comprehended under three general 
divisions, the tendency of Spiritualism to the benefit 
or injury of mankind, physically, intellectually, and mor- 
ally. 



250 MODERN MYSTERIES. 



SECTION I. 

TENDENCY OF SPIRITUALISM TO THE GOOD OR ILL OP 
MANKIND PHYSICALLY. 

To show that Spiritualism benefits mankind physi- 
cally, it must be proved, that, in these circles, the health, 
not of the sick, but of those in a normal physical state, 
is benefited, and that, by visiting these circles, and 
subjecting ourselves to the influences there generated, 
the most perfect forms of physical development may 
be secured. That which is medicine to the sick, is 
poison to persons in health. If diseased persons are 
medicinally benefited, by visiting these circles, that is a 
sufficient reason why individuals in health should avoid 
those places. We may safely assume, that no intelligent 
individuals of this latter class, ever visit these circles, 
with the expectation of thereby lengthening life, or of 
securing to themselves or posterity, more perfect forms 
of physical development. Suppose, on the other hand, 
that the tendency of the action of the force there gener- 
ated, is to derange the physical system, and to derange 
it to such a degree, as to disturb fatally the normal 
action of the mind itself. Then, as the masses of per- 
sons visiting these circles are in a normal state, men- 
tally and physically, we should be bound to regard the 
tendency of Spiritualism, physically considered, as evil, 
and almost exclusively so, and that in a very aggra- 
vated degree. 

" Catalepsy," one of the most terrible of all physical 
disorders, — " trance, clairvoyance, and various invol- 
untary muscular, nervous, and mental activity," are 
among the effects attributed by Mr. Ballou to this force, 



THE MISSION OF " TUE SPIRITS." 251 

as it acts " in mediums." The reports • of our lunatic 
asylums everywhere disclose the appalling effects of 
the action of this terrible force in such persons. We 
once saw a speaking medium, when " the spirits " were 
in him. We have no wish to have the vision renewed. 
We seriously doubt, whether " the seven devils " in 
Mary Magdalen produced in her more revolting physi- 
cal and mental manifestations than we then witnessed. 
Those terrible contortions, and convulsions of the 
whole physical system, together with the wild and in- 
coherent utterances, — we have often wished to banish 
the remembrance of them from our mind. What terri- 
ble thirst is often induced in such persons, under such 
circumstances. A single medium has been known to 
drink more than a dozen tumblers of water, during a 
single evening. In other instances, the senses are 
utterly disordered. A tumbler of ginger water, for 
example, was handed to a medium in the presence of a 
friend of ours. She affirmed that it tasted like licorice. 
A tumbler of pure water was then handed to her. It 
was to her as bitter as wormwood, and so nauseating 
that she could not retain any portion of it in her 
mouth. Another medium, a strong man, when on his 
way to attend his spirit circle, one of the coldest days 
of the past winter, found himself under the influence 
of this terrible force. He was utterly unable to stand 
upon his feet, and when subjected to the freezing cold, 
with his outer garments thrown off, the perspiration 
ran from him, as from a laboring man under a vertical 
July sun. No wonder that early graves, and our lunatic 
asylums, are peopled, to such an alarming extent, from 
this class of individuals. We believe this force to be 
one of the life forces, as ordinarily developed in the 
human system, and for that reason, a death force, when 



252 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

developed unduly, as it is, and from the circumstances 
of the case, must be, in such persons. 

Precisely similar effects in kind, though but in few 
instances in degree, must be produced in those who 
frequent these circles. A gentleman of our acquaint- 
ance, a very influential and devoted spiritualist, told us, 
some months since, that he received a special message 
from "the spirits," urging him to devote his time and 
influence to the promotion of this great cause, he hav- 
ing leisure and means, and a liberal education. He 
accordingly introduced a medium into his own house, 
for the purpose of carrying out the plan proposed. The 
effect of frequent subjection to " the spirit " influence, 
however, was such upon his health, that the spirit of 
his own father told him that he must send the medium 
from his house and dismiss the subject from his mind, 
or his health would erelong be hopelessly prostrated. 
"We state this fact merely in illustration of the physical 
effects produced by the action of this terrible power upon 
the human organism ; for such we honestly believe to 
be its unvarying tendency. Upon many the effect of sit- 
ting in these circles is such, that it cannot be endured. 
A friend of ours, after sitting but a short time under 
such influences, had to be carried from the room, and 
more than two hours elapsed before she was able to 
return to her place of residence. A medium whom 
another friend accidentally met, some time ago, put 
one hand into one of hers, and placed the other upon 
the top of her head. Instantly our friend felt a very 
strong mesmeric force coming over her, she having 
frequently been subject to it before. We allude to this 
fact as another illustration of the identity of the mes- 
meric force and that from which these manifestations 
immediately result. On the subsequent evening, after 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 253 

she had been seated but a few minutes in a spirit 
circle, by the side of the medium referred to, she found 
her eyes immovably closed, and herself unable to stir 
or to speak. Her limbs became stiff and rigid, and her 
breathing very difficult, while the pulsation of the 
heart became perfectly unnatural ; the feeling induced 
in her brain was as if a heavy mass of cold iron or lead 
had been laid upon it. At length, by the greatest 
effort, she was enabled to utter a scream sufficiently 
loud to indicate her condition to those present. She 
was accordingly taken from the circle, and after a time, 
was restored to her natural state. Such is the effect of 
this power upon susceptible temperaments. Yet the 
tendency, in all other instances, is precisely the same, 
unless (cases of very rare occurrence) they happen to 
be affected with peculiar forms of disease upon which 
this force acts medicinally. For ourselves, we should 
deem it as criminal in us to subject ourselves to its fre- 
quent influence, as it would be to habituate our physi- 
cal system to the continued action of small quantities 
of arsenic. 

A power which acts with such terrible effects upon 
the physical, and especially upon the nervous system, 
cannot fail to disorder, to a greater or less degree, if 
not fatally, the normal action of the mind; When the 
physical systems of individuals are so disordered, for 
example, that they cannot distinguish ginger water from 
licorice, or pure water from wormwood, which of their 
senses can we trust on any subject ? What court of 
justice would receive the testimony of such persons in 
regard to any facts, which they may affirm themselves 
to have witnessed, when in such a state ? To such 
individuals the most discordant sounds may possess an 
angelic melody, and the wildest vagaries of thought all 

22 



254 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the characteristics of the highest wisdom. These re- 
marks apply not only to mediums, but to individuals 
constituting these circles, and apply to the full extent 
to which they have become subject to the action of this 
force. When we read the communications there ob- 
tained, and find that sensible and even educated persons 
present, regard them as embodying angelic thoughts, 
we affirm, that but one account can be given of such 
facts, namely, that the minds of such individuals have 
become so disordered, that they cannot distinguish the 
really beautiful, true, and good, from their respective 
opposites. The individual, for example, who could not 
distinguish ginger water from licorice, or pure water 
from wormwood, supposed herself speaking and acting 
under the immediate inspiration of the apostle Peter. 
As thus inspired, her communications were received by 
her auditors. Yet when questioned, this apostle thus 
speaking and thus received, had forgotten the particular 
feast at which Christ was crucified, the names of the 
mountains on which Jerusalem was built, and all facts 
of a kindred character. The audience, however, which 
attended upon her ministrations, and which was 
gathered from one of the most intelligent and edu- 
cated communities in northern Ohio, and was consti- 
tuted of persons, numbers of whom, to say the least, 
were by no means void of intelligence, were not at all 
shaken in their faith in the reality of the Petrine inspi- 
ration of the medium, by such manifestations of igno- 
rance. Her incoherent ravings, too, were received as 
the very height and perfection of inspired wisdom. To 
us such facts are far more mysterious than any others 
connected with Spiritualism, and can be accounted for 
but upon the supposition, that mediums and the mem- 
bers of the circles around them, are subject to a common 
mental disorder. 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 255 

For these reasons we receive, with great caution, and 
with many and large subtractions, the accounts of very 
wonderful events, as having occurred in these circles. 
Such events invariably almost occur, when spiritualists, 
with few or any exceptions are present, and when the 
so called spirit power is operating with very great force. 
All these minds are under the influence of one common 
physically and mentally disordering force, a force which 
unifies the perceptions and thoughts of those upon 
whom it acts. A very ordinary event may appear to 
such minds as possessed of even miraculous character- 
istics. A single sound from some musical instrument 
is raised in the circle, or a combination of sounds, 
which, to an ear in a normal state, would grate harsh 
discord. To minds in the circle it may seem as super- 
angelic music. A single sound produced on such in- 
strument, by some one in the circle, may subsequently 
reverberate in those minds as the highest melody pro- 
ceeding from the object referred to, when its chords are 
swept by invisible hands. The mesmerizer throws his 
handkerchief into the lap of his magnetic subject. To 
the latter it is a beautiful infant, a bouquet, a golden 
fringed mantle, a fur boa, or a terrible serpent, just 
according to the arbitrary imaginings of the former. 
So, to minds under the influence of the same disorder- 
ing force, in these circles, some quite common event 
may successively assume a corresponding diversity of 
forms, all of which will appear to all these minds, not 
only absolute, but distinct and separate realities, which 
they unitedly and honestly suppose themselves to have 
witnessed. A member of Congress, for example, told 
us, that while in Washington, he once had occasion to 
step into the room of another member, who is a de- 
voted spiritualist, and steady attendant on the spirit 



256 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

circles, a man of high worth, and much political emi- 
nence. In the window of that room lay a very beautiful 
paper-weight of such a form, that the rays of the sun 
shining through it, were deflected so as to form a bright 
spot upon the wall. The occupant of the room, discov- 
ering the luminous spot, said, with much excitement, 
" I do wish I knew the cause of that light upon that 
wall. I do wish I knew what caused that light." Our 
friend, who had taken his seat by the window, passed 
his hand over the object referred to, and the light dis- 
appeared. " There," exclaimed the excited spiritualist, 
" it is gone. I do wish I knew the cause of that light." 
The hand was removed, and the exciting vision reap- 
peared. " There, it has come again. I do wish I knew 
the cause of that light." Thus a very common event 
appears to one from whom the disordering force excited 
in the spirit circles has not quite passed away. Let 
that man return to those places, and there again be- 
come subject to the strong action of that force, and 
what confidence can be reasonably reposed in the valid- 
ity of any visions which he may have there ? The 
most common events may put on the most miraculous 
forms conceivable, and with all integrity, he may testify 
to their actual occurrence in such forms. No good, but 
much evil physically considered, is to be expected to 
the majority of individuals who frequent these circles. 
Its physical results surely do not, and cannot commend 
Spiritualism to our high regard. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 257 



SECTION n. 

TENDENCY OF SPIRITUALISM TO BENEFIT OR INJURE MAN- 
KIND INTELLECTUALLY. 

The tendency of Spiritualism to benefit or injure 
mankind intellectually next requires our attention. In 
this respect, the highest conceivable claims are advanced 
in its behalf by its advocates. By it, " life and immor- 
tality," " things unseen and eternal," all that it concerns 
us to know, and all that is requisite to gratify a lauda- 
ble curiosity pertaining to the future state, are rapped 
out with the most perfect distinctness before our minds. 
Under the tuition and guidance of " the spirits," fallen 
humanity is, at length, to be led out wholly from the 
dark and gloomy regions of ignorance, error, and super- 
stition, to a limitless millennium of mental light and 
spiritual illumination. Our purpose is to bring the 
validity of these high claims to the test of a rigid ex- 
amination. To have any claims to our regard, and 
especially to the high regard demanded for it, it must 
first of all present a reliable source of information per- 
taining to the objects which it professedly reveals. It 
must also do much for the advancement of science, and 
for the purification and elevation of our literature. It is 
in these three points of light, that we shall consider the 
subject. 

SPIRITUALISM NOT A RELIABLE SOURCE OF INFORMATION. 

To us, it is a matter of no little surprise, that those 
who seem to glory in nothing but discipleship of " the 
spirits," have never seriously raised the inquiry pertain- 
ing to the reliability of those revelations upon the as- 



258 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

surned validity of which they are shaping their course, 
and determining their principles of action for an im- 
mortal destiny. Had they raised this one inquiry, and 
carefully applied those laws of evidence which conduct 
to a right conclusion in regard to it, we venture the 
assertion, that there is not in the wide world, a spirit 
circle which would now be visited by any serious in- 
quirers after truth upon the subjects referred to, with the 
expectation of receiving new and reliable information in 
regard to these subjects, any more than a circle of 
known maniacs would be visited for the same purpose. 
" The spirits " are presented to our regard as witnesses. 
If they are intelligent, well informed, and truthful wit- 
nesses, and we can have evidence of the same, we may 
wisely and prudently resort to them for information 
upon subjects on which they may be willing to make 
communications. On any other condition than the 
perfect reliableness of their testimony, as a source of in- 
formation, can we be justified, can we be justly freed 
from the charge of infinite presumption, in basing our 
belief in regard to the doctrine of immortality, or any 
other important subject, upon their revelations ? Now 
no form of testimony can be shown to be valid, but 
upon the following conditions : (1.) The witnesses must 
be identified, that is, we must know who are speaking, 
what are their names, and from whence they come. 
If it is a spirit out of the body, or in the body, that is 
giving testimony, we must, we repeat, know who he is. 
(2.) The character of the witnesses for truthfulness and 
veracity must also be fully established. The testimony 
of none but truthful spirits, known and read of all as 
such, should, for a moment, be admitted, on such sub- 
jects as those under consideration. (3.) Equally well 
established must be the fact, that these witnesses are 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 259 

well informed, and not at all likely to be deceived, on 
these subjects. (4.) "While there is the absence of self- 
contradiction, in the testimony of each witness, there 
must be a substantial agreement among the witnesses 
generally, on all fundamental facts. Is the testimony 
of " the spirits," granting that these communications do 
proceed from them, of this character ? Can Spiritualism 
be shown to present a reliable source of information on 
the high themes and questions of our immortal destiny ? 
We answer, no; and that for the following reasons : — 
1. By no possibility, can these witnesses be identified. 
No one can tell, when receiving a communication, 
from whom it comes, whether it comes from the spirit 
of man, from an angel, or a devil, much less can he, by 
any tests which he can apply, determine what particular 
individual is communicating. There is not a solitary 
test question that ever was put to identify spirits, to 
which as correct answers may not, and are not obtained, 
when put to spirits which are in the body, or never 
existed at all, as to any others. According to the fun- 
damental teachings of Spiritualism, spirits can read our 
secret thoughts, and give answers to purely mental ques- 
tions. Suppose we put a question pertaining to a sub- 
ject unknown to any person that is now, or ever has been 
on earth, but ourselves, and the particular spirit with 
whom we are professedly communicating. How do we 
know but that some devil has taken the true answer 
directly from our minds, or was present when the event 
referred to occurred, and thus learned about it, and is 
now answering in the name of the particular spirit in- 
voked, and that for the purpose of perpetrating some 
fatal deception upon us, on other subjects ? The voice 
and manner, and even the handwriting of individuals 
may be and are copied, when it is known absolutely, 



260 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

that their spirits cannot be communicating at all. There 
is, then, no actual or conceivable tests by which the wit- 
nesses, in this case, can be identified. 

2. Equally impossible is it to identify the character 
of these witnesses, supposing them to be spirits. That- 
wicked spirits do inhabit some of the spirit spheres, and 
do communicate with men, in these circles, accords with 
the fundamental teachings of Spiritualism itself. No 
principles or tests have yet been discovered by which 
we can determine the character or motives of any 
spirit that has ever appeared in any of these circles. All 
the tests which spiritualists have ever suggested on the 
subject, are sustained by no form or degree of evidence, 
on the one hand, and are most self-contradictory and 
absurd, on the other. It has been said, for example, that 
" the pure in heart " will, by an immutable law of spirit 
communication, draw spirits of a corresponding charac- 
ter into communication with themselves, while corrupt 
minds will attract corrupt and lying spirits. If this 
principle really obtains as the law of spirit intercourse, 
one fact is undeniable, namely, that bad men should, on 
no account, ever enter one of these circles ; for they will 
thereby become possessed of " seven other spirits " more 
wicked than ever dwelt in them before, and "their last 
state be worse than the first." But, then, where is the 
evidence of the existence of such a law ? Nowhere. 
It is a mere unauthorized assumption brought in to 
save a desperate cause. Granting that these are truly 
spirit manifestations, we have not, and cannot have the 
least evidence, that any spirits but devils have ever ap- 
peared in a single spirit circle on earth. There is no 
escaping this conclusion. 

3. Not a solitary spirit has ever communicated in 
these circles, if any have, who does not present all the 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 261 

indications of being a most reckless liar, that can be 
presented by any spirit, in the body or out of it. Take 
any spirit that can be named, for example, into an or- 
thodox circle, and he will affirm absolutely all the arti- 
cles of the evangelical faith, and assert, with equal 
absoluteness, that no spirits but " the father of lies " 
and his agents, have ever, in any circle, intimated the 
truth of any opposite sentiment. Change the character 
of the circle, and on the same spot, the same spirit will 
deny all that he has previously affirmed, and avow per- 
fectly opposite sentiments. Change the circle a third 
time, and a hundred times in succession, and this same 
spirit will reveal himself a stern advocate of all creeds, 
and of no creed at all, just according to the sentiments 
of the company in whch he happens to find himself 
at any given moment. We make these statements 
without reserve, qualification, or fear of contradiction 
from any well-informed persons in the community. If 
these are spirits who are speaking to us, in these com- 
munications, we should be blind, and wilfully so, to 
undeniable facts, and to all the laws of evidence, if we 
did not brand the whole mass together as reckless liars, 
and utterly repudiate their testimony. 

4. Not only is the testimony of each witness, 
in this case, thus self-contradictory, but upon no 
fundamental questions is there harmony among the 
witnesses themselves. It is impossible to bring " the 
spirits" to harmonize in their testimony on any 
such questions. On all subjects we have an end- 
less chaos of contradictory affirmations. How, then, 
can Spiritualism benefit mankind, by presenting us 
with a reliable source of information, on any subject 
pertaining to this world or the next? If we follow 
"the spirits," we must hold all opinions and doctrines, 



262 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

and none at all, as true : we must revere the Bible, as 
a revelation from God, and scorn it, as embodying a 
mass of " cunningly devised fables : " we must hold 
the doctrine of eternal retribution, and believe, with 
equal absoluteness, that all men will be saved: we 
must entertain the opinion, that at death, " all must 
appear before the judgment-seat of Christ," and that 
the spirit may wander for centuries, and, for aught that 
appears, to eternity, in the spirit land, without seeing 
him at all : we must hold that all evil propensities die 
with the body, and that the soul becomes perfectly 
pure, as it enters eternity ; and that it enters this state 
with the very character which it acquired while in the 
body, etc., etc. Who would regard such discordant reve- 
lations as these, — and these are the only revelations of 
which Spiritualism can boast — a reliable source of 
information on any subject? 

5. The same view of the subject is most fully con- 
firmed by the concessions of leading spiritualists them- 
selves. " The spirits," even according to Swedenborg, 
who claims the most ample experience upon the sub- 
ject, "relate things exceedingly fictitious and full of 
lies. When spirits begin to speak with man," he 
adds, " man must beware lest he believe them in any 
thing, for they say almost any thing ; things are fabri- 
cated by them, and they lie ; for if they were permitted 
to relate what heaven is, and how things are in heaven, 
they would tell so many lies, and indeed with solemn 
affirmation, that man would be astonished." He further 
affirms, that they will personate the characters of others, 
and make all manner of assertions, good and bad, in 
their names, so that it is perilous to deal with them at 
all. The following extract from the New York Tribune 
presents Judge Edmonds's view of this subject. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 263 

"But Judge Edmonds and his Mends themselves 
acknowledge that spiritual intercourse is attended by 
numerous difficulties, and that it is hard to say how 
much credit is to be given to the communications of 
mediums. In the first place, the mind of the medium, 
as he says in the introduction to his second volume, 
lately published, influences the message — then the 
state of the atmosphere and of the locality have some- 
thing to do with it — next, the harmony or discord of 
the mortals who are present. And, finally, many of 
the spirits themselves, have a very decided propensity 
to mischief and evil. Of the latter, he remarks, ' selfish, 
intolerant, malicious, and delighting in human suffering 
upon earth, they continue the same, for a while at least, 
in their spirit home ; and having, in common with 
others, the power of reaching mankind, through this 
newly developed instrumentality, they use it for the 
gratification of their predominant propensities, with 
even less regard than they' had on earth for the suffering 
that they inflict on others. Sometimes it is, with a 
clearly marked purpose of evil, avowed with a hardi- 
hood which smacks of the vilest condition of mortal 
society. Sometimes its fell purposes are most adroitly 
veiled under a cover of good intentions.' 

" But how are we to know which is which ? How 
are we to know whether the spirits speaking to Judge 
Edmonds as Bacon and Swedenborg — often speaking 
arrant nonsense, and never rising above commonplace 
— are not some of the veriest wretches whom he has, 
in his character of judge, committed to the gallows ? 
What authority is there in any thing they say, more 
than in the unsupported dicta of Jack and Gill, or any 
other inconsiderable mortal ? If it be replied, that 
their assertions are to be tested by our reason, or by 



264 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the evidences to which we commonly resort in forming 
opinions, we rejoin that, in that event, — supposing 
them to be intrinsically worthy of attention at all, — 
they become simply intellectual or scientific data, and 
are not authoritative religious revelations. They are 
testimonies to a new experience of life, perhaps, given 
under dubious and conflicting circumstances, — are to 
be believed or not, as one may decide after investiga- 
tion, — but in no sense veritable or commanding dis- 
closures of spiritual truth. They are at best only asser- 
tions ; and, until the spirits bring us, therefore, a great 
deal better credentials than they have yet brought us, 
or furnish us with better teaching than any they haA r e 
yet furnished, the high claims put in for them cannot 
be sustained, and we are compelled to treat them as 
ghostly old quacks or jokers, — as of the classes spoken 
of by Swedenborg and Judge Edmonds, who delight 
either to mystify or poke fun at us, poor mortals ; for, as 
to their cosmogonies and descriptions of heaven, thus 
far, they seem to us the merest sentimentalities or 
stupidities, of which we can find scores that are supe- 
rior any day on the shelves of any library." 

We once put the question to one of the greatest, if 
not the greatest of the spirit leaders in the Western 
States, whether he did regard these revelations as reli- 
able sources of information on the subjects to which 
they pertain. He frankly replied that he did not 
" There is not a medium on earth," he remarked, 
"whose communications I would commit myself to." 
" If their revelations accord," he continued, " with sound 
philosophy, I believe them. If not, I disbelieve them." 
" That is," said a friend who stood by, " you believe 
these communications, when they accord, and disbe- 
lieve them when they do not accord with your own phi- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 265 

losophy, and that is all. Every man must act upon the 
same principle, and we are all left just where we should 
be, in the total absence of all such revelations." The 
apostle of "the spirits" was silenced, of course, and 
yet he was devoting his life to one end, — the persuad- 
ing of the public to hang their eternity upon the valid- 
ity of these very revelations. We doubt whether an 
intelligent and honest spiritualist can be found, who 
would not give the same answer to the same question 
as that above given ; yet he is acting upon the same 
principle as the individual referred to. 

Some individuals, and of these there are not a few, 
seem to be perfectly aware of the total unreliability of 
these communications, and yet maintain their faith in 
them, by mere dint of will. An individual, for example, 
sent a question to a certain spirit circle, pertaining to a 
subject upon which he desired to obtain information. 
The question was attended with this singular state- 
ment : that if the answer obtained should finally turn 
out to be incorrect, it would not, in the least, shake his 
faith in the doctrine of spiritual communication. This 
fact, we hazard little in asserting, presents the precise 
attitude of the minds of almost the entire mass of those 
who consult and believe in " the spirits," throughout 
the world. They know that their faith hangs upon 
revelations whose validity is perfectly unreliable, and 
yet, by mere dint of will, they continue to believe. 

There is one circumstance which has, no doubt, great 
weight with many, that should not be overlooked in 
this connection. While all the diversity and contradic- 
tions above described, actually obtain in the teachings 
of " the spirits," yet a manifest and altogether pre- 
ponderating majority of these responses actually harmo- 
nize in respect to certain important questions pertaining 

23 



266 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

to the invisible world. Now here is a very singular as- 
sumption, namely, that amid a perfect chaos of con- 
flicting voices, great questions pertaining to our immortal 
destiny are to be determined by a majority of responses, 
and that in total ignorance of the character of the 
respondents, especially when it is well known, that if 
the majority of the inquirers held the principles of the 
evangelical faith, the majority of these very responses 
would be in favor of said principles, and not, as they 
now are, against them. 

Another consideration has still greater weight with 
other individuals. They are under the firm conviction, 
that they have had revelations from the spirits of de- 
parted friends whose known characters and relations to 
the inquirers preclude the supposition, that from such 
sources false revelations can come. Now the reliability 
of these revelations is utterly annihilated by the undeni- 
able fact, that even they are just as contradictory as 
those obtained from any other sources. In the wide 
and endlessly diversified and contradictory catalogue of 
human opinions, there is not one, the mere doctrine of 
a future state excepted, — if even this be an exception, — 
which has not been affirmed and denied with the most 
perfect absoluteness, by these the most reliable of all 
spirit revelations. The spirit of the sainted mother of 
one individual affirms to him most positively the truth 
of all the fundamental articles of the evangelical faith, 
together with the solemn affirmation, that all spirit 
responses of an opposite nature are from the father 
of lies. Another individual obtains from his sainted 
mother responses equally absolute, and yet, in all re- 
spects, of precisely an opposite nature. These are the 
undeniable facts of the case, and they leave with us no 
grounds of doubt in regard to the real reliability of 



THE MISSION OP {i THE SPIRITS." 267 

these revelations. Besides, the relations of " the spirits " 
to men in the flesh, as affirmed by these very revela- 
tions, and held by all who put faith in them, preclude 
totally the possibility of our knowing, or having any 
adequate evidence that we have, or can have, any 
specific communications with any particular individuals 
in the spirit land. " The spirits," we are taught, are 
witnesses of our external acts, and can read, with per- 
fect accuracy, our most secret thoughts. Hence the 
responses given in the spirit circles to purely mental 
questions. Suppose that an individual in one of these 
circles, inquires if the spirit of his sainted mother is 
present. That question can be answered by the father 
of lies as well as by her. Any response to such a ques- 
tion, therefore, is no certain evidence of her presence. 
A question is now put pertaining to a subject abso- 
lutely unknown, as he supposes, to any being but the 
inquirer, his mother, and God. How does he, how can 
he know, but that the father of lies was present at the 
time, as a witness of that transaction, or that that 
feD deceiver is now reading his secret thoughts, and 
that from information obtained from one or both of 
these sources, is giving forth the very responses which 
the inquirer vainly supposes can come from no being 
but the spirit of that mother, and all this for the pur- 
pose of ultimate deception on other subjects? The 
doctrine of spirit revelations as given forth by "the 
spirits " themselves, precludes totally the possibility of 
our knowing, or having any reliable evidence in regard 
to the identity of the particular spirits from whom any 
given responses proceed, even granting the reality of 
such revelations. 



268 MODERN MYSTERIES. 



SPIRITUALISM HAS NOT BENEFITED THE WORLD, AS FAR 

AS SCIENCE IS CONCERNED. 

But what has Spiritualism done for the advancement 
of science? It has, according to its own professions, 
brought to its aid the great leading minds of the highest 
celestial spheres, and those minds have carried us over 
the whole field of scientific research, in respect to the 
finite and infinite, time and eternity, and matter and 
spirit. What is the result of this movement thus far ? 
Have " the spirits " revealed to us any new and impor- 
tant facts in any of these great departments of human 
thought and inquiry, facts to the elucidation of which 
the great principles of science are to be applied ? Spir- 
itualism has revealed no such facts ; not one. Have 
" the spirits " revealed any new and important tests, by 
the application of which truth may be distinguished 
from error ? This is one of the grand consummations 
of science. Spiritualism, however, has won no laurels 
whatever in this important field. Have " the spirits " 
revealed any new principles, or truths of any kind, 
which may lead the mind forward in the march of dis- 
covery? This is what Bacon did while in the body. 
He discovered and elucidated great principles of science, 
under the influence of which humanity has been pro- 
gressing ever since, and will continue to progress, till 
the end of time. Bacon, after dwelling for centuries 
amid the illuminations of eternity, has, according to the 
teachings of Spiritualism, descended from the celestial 
spheres to instruct humanity once more. What new 
truth has the spirit of Bacon, or any other spirit, revealed, 
or even suggested, for the advancement and perfection 
of science ? None at all. We have sounded the depths 
of these communications for such principles, and have 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 269 

found none. Others have done the same, with the 
same results. 

In no respect is science under obligations to " the 
spirits." Bacon, when on earth, and in the body, de- 
veloped, as we have said, great principles, under the 
influence of which mind has progressed ever since. 
Dwelling as he has been for two centuries, amid the 
light of eternity, what should we expect from such a 
mind, were he now permitted to reappear as the in- 
structor of humanity ? Would he not enlarge our vision, 
open new tracks for scientific research, and develop new 
principles, or more perfectly elucidate those we already 
know, and thus enable us to advance onward and up- 
ward, in our search for truth ? But the Bacon who now 
stands before us, as one of the celestial spirits, instead 
of enlarging our vision, needs to enter some of our pri- 
mary schools, there to sit among children, and learn the 
very first principles of science. The same remarks are 
equally applicable to the entire circle of spirits who are 
speaking to us, in these new revelations. 

The spirits are continually harping upon human pro- 
gression, and require us, as a means to this end, to 
yield ourselves to their exclusive and absolute guidance. 
They then reveal thoughts and ideas, in dwelling upon 
which progression can result in but one direction exclu- 
sively, towards degrading superstition, mental imbecility, 
and idiocy. That divine revelation which Spiritualism 
would supplant, while it says almost nothing on this 
threadbare theme, reveals ideas and principles, upon 
which mind cannot but expand eternally, ever develop- 
ing in that expansion, higher and higher forms of beauty 
and perfection. When the great apostle of Spiritual- 
ism, A. J. Davis, was in our city, he remarked, that the 
Mosaic dispensation had its origin in the back of the 

23* 



270 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

head, the Christian in the top of the head, and the new 
dispensation, that of "the spirits," in the front of the 
head ; the first being the dispensation of force, the second 
of love, and the third of ivisdom. When we read that 
statement, we were forcibly reminded of a fact which 
occurred in the place where Mr. Davis commenced his 
career as a " seer and clairvoyant." A young woman 
in that place became possessed of that form of clairvoy- 
ance in which, at all times, she could see and describe 
the internal structure of the human system, with all the 
accuracy of science, and could name the parts affected 
with disease, and describe their appearance. After 
listening to a discourse from a certain speaker, she re- 
marked, that the mass of brains on one side of his head 
was much larger than that on the other, and that on one 
side, there was a spot about as large as a dollar where 
there were no brains at all. We were forcibly impressed 
with the thought, that if Spiritualism has its origin in 
the front of the head, there must be in all foreheads 
where it originates, and takes up its abode, spaces much 
larger than a dollar where there can be no brains at all, 
or any thing else which can sustain the weight of 
scientific truth, or of any great thoughts of any kind. 
Trophies in the field of science, and human progression, 
Spiritualism has yet to win. 



SPIRITUALISM ITSELF UTTERLY WANTING IN ALL THE 
CHARACTERISTICS OP A TRULY SCIENTIFIC MOVEMENT. 

But while Spiritualism has made no additions to 
science, it is itself, as an intellectual movement, utterly 
void of all the characteristics of true science. There 
never was a movement in which there was a greater 
carelessness, in the following fundamental particulars, 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 271 

than in this, namely: in the induction of facts, — in 
deducing conclusions from facts induced, — and in the 
assumption of principles. To have introduced this 
new theory, with any rational hope of obtaining for it 
a permanent influence over the public mind, its advo- 
cates should have been exceedingly careful to have 
introduced, as the basis of its high claims, no state- 
ments of facts but such as are sustained by the most 
reliable evidence. They should have been equally 
cautious in the deduction of conclusions, and none the 
less so, in the assumption of principles. What has 
been their course in all these respects ? 

In the induction of facts, let us say, in the first 
instance, the history of the world does not present a 
case of greater carelessness and presumption. Their 
reliable statements, as far as they have any, are now 
so intermingled with mountain masses of statements 
which are utterly unreliable, or greatly exaggerated, on 
the one hand, and which are the grossest fabrications 
and impositions, on the other, that, by no possibility, 
can the public distinguish the one class from the other. 
We will allude to the following statements as illustra- 
tions. The first adduced was given in a public dis- 
cussion held in Cleveland, on Spiritualism, the past 
winter. During the progress of the discussion Joel 
Tiffany, Esq., one of the debaters put forward by the 
spiritualists, called upon J. M. Stirling, Esq., to state 
some facts. Our extracts are from a pamphlet published 
by spiritualists themselves. 

" Mr. Stirling said, I could stand until to-morrow 
morning stating cases which have come within my 
own knowledge, of which none connected had any 
knowledge. I was introduced to a lady in the cars 
near Boston, arid soon ascertained that she was a spirit- 



272 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

ualist and a medium. She told me that she at one 
time received a communication, signed by Robert Ran- 
toul, saying that he had an important matter to com- 
municate. It will be understood that his estate was 
considerably embarrassed. The communication was as 
follows : — 'I wish you to go to such a town where 
my commissioners are, and inform them that there are 
certain documents which they need, and the possession 
of which will save the estate a large amount of money.' 
She said, that having gone to visit these friends, they 
had saved the estate $ 30,000. I was present in a cir- 
cle in this city, in which a lady was told that her 
mother was sick, and wished her to come home imme- 
diately. I said to the circle, ' now this will be a good 
test, for none of us know this.' A few days afterward 
the lady received a letter informing her of the sickness, 
of her mother, and summoning her home." 

By certificates obtained from the father of Mr. Ran- 
toul, and from the two commissioners and the adminis- 
trator of this estate, it has been proved before the pub- 
lic, that not one farthing has been saved to that estate 
by spiritualism. The report that $30,000 has been 
thus saved stands forth as a gross and shocking fabri- 
cation. Suppose, however, that the facts had all been 
found to have been in perfect correspondence with 
the statements made by Mr. Stirling. This would 
not justify him at all, in having put them forward as he 
did, as proof of the truth of Spiritualism. He is intro- 
duced to a female in the cars. Of her character, he 
knew nothing but this, that she belonged to a class 
who had the highest motives to report themselves as 
the mediums of the most startling communications. 
Before any statements coming from such persons were 
given forth as the basis of such conclusions as were 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 273 

then sought to be established, the individuals above 
designated should have been written to, and the facts, 
when presented, given in the most reliable form. The 
above, however, is a fair example of the manner in 
which the great leading facts of Spiritualism are ob- 
tained and given to the public. Take another state- 
ment, given by Mr. Tiffany himself, during the progress 
of the same discussion. 

" I was in a circle in which a communication was 
received by raps in a language which none of us under- 
stood. No one in the circle knew how to separate the 
letters into words as they were rapped out. They 
were all joined together. Some thought there was no 
sense to it, but I was of the impression that there was 
a connection in it if anybody knew how to divide the 
letters properly into words. It was afterwards ascer- 
tained to be a communication in French, given by a 
mother to her son, who could not read French. The 
intelligence, in this case, was not in the circle, nor could 
any one in the circle have any definite idea or thought 
that it was an intelligible communication." 

Now what did this wonderful communication, as 
subsequently explained to the audience, turn out to be ? 
The speaker, on a subsequent occasion, affirmed it to 
have been " a lengthy communication." But what was 
this lengthy essay, given in French ? A young lad was 
present in the circle who spoke French, and to the spirit 
of his departed mother, he put a question in that lan- 
guage. The following " lengthy communication," in 
the same language, was then rapped out, in reply, " My 
pretty little son." We do not say, that the speaker 
meant to deceive us, on that occasion. It is not un- 
likely, that the minds of all in the circle, were so disor- 
dered, by the action of the odylic force, that they could 



274 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

not distinguish a long from a short communication. 
We adduce this case for this one purpose, to show that 
the real facts of Spiritualism, as far as they exist, are by 
the carelessness of its advocates, to use no more offen- 
sive term, so intermingled with those which are sheer 
fabrications or utterly exaggerated, that the one class 
cannot be distinguished from the other. Myriads of 
illustrations are at hand to establish the same conclu- 
sion. Reports which have gone abroad of what has 
occurred in the spirit circles are the most unreliable 
sources of information conceivable. 

Equally careless have spiritualists shown themselves 
in respect to the conclusions which they have deduced 
from these facts. Individuals, for example, place them- 
selves around a table, and call upon " the spirits " to 
move the object. The object is moved accordingly. 
Without inquiring at all, whether the same phenomena 
may not be produced in the same circumstances, when 
" the spirits " are not invoked, the sweeping inference is 
drawn, that the truth of Spiritualism has been demon- 
strated. What a leap in logic does such a conclusion 
imply ! Because a table, when certain conditions are 
fulfilled, follows the movements of our hands or bodies, 
what real basis can we find in such a fact for the con- 
clusion, that some disembodied spirit must have hold 
of the object, and be pushing or dragging it about the 
room ? Other objects begin to perform some crazy 
antics, and we are called upon to infer that the room 
about us is filled with spirits. We may justly appre- 
hend, if men continue long to reason thus, that posterity 
will say, that in our day, logic, if nothing else, " had iled 
to brutish beasts, and men had lost their reason." The 
following wonderful incident, originally published in 
the Cincinnati Times, is now going the rounds of the 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 275 

papers, as one among the many new proofs of the divin- 
ity of Spiritualism. We give the account entire, that 
our readers may receive the full impression of the great, 
and as Spiritualists would have us believe, decisive fact 
presented. 

" Visiting the ' Home of the Friendless' yesterday we 
gathered the following particulars in relation to a won- 
derful cure lately performed there by a ' healing me- 
dium,' or a spiritualist. It is certainly a wonderful 
occurrence, and we give it as a matter of news, without 
expressing any opinion upon the spiritual theory, which 
has so many ardent believers in the United States. 

" A short time ago Frances Jane Price, a native of this 
city, and an orphan, in very destitute circumstances, 
came to the ' Home of the Friendless ' for assistance. 

" She is seventeen years of age, and had been, pre- 
vious to the occurrence, in the city infirmary, a poor, sick, 
friendless creature. For eleven years the sight of one 
eye had been entirely lost, and a celebrated physician of 
this city had pronounced it beyond remedy. Another 
physician had given it as his opinion that she had the 
consumption, and in decided terms predicted that her 
days were few. She was confined to her bed at the 
' Home,' it was suggested by some persons who felt in- 
terested in her case, to call in Mr. H , a gentleman 

of this city, who through some mysterious power, has 
been lately performing several wonderful cures. 

" Mr. H, in company with Rev. J. H. Fowler, accord- 
ingly called on the sick girl, whom they found in a very 
weak condition, scarcely able to sit up. Mr. H. seated 
himself by her side, took her hand, and after making 
few ' passes ' over her head and neck, pronounced 
that her lungs were in no manner affected ; that they 
were very susceptible but yet perfectly sound. He then 



276 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

continued his manipulations a short time, and without 
giving one particle of medicine, or leaving any pre- 
scriptions or directions, took his leave. From that the 
girl commenced improving. Her cough stopped at 
once, and she appeared stronger. Mr. H. came the next 
day, and repeated his ' passes ' over the girl's head and 
neck, and took his leave as before. Strange to relate, a 
dim, pale light began to appear in the eye, which for 
eleven years had been as rayless as a stone. It in- 
creased slowly, but surely, to the astonishment of every 
one in the house, and to the great joy of the poor girl. 
Again Mr. H. performed his manipulations, and stronger 
grew the eye, until its sight was perfectly restored ! 
And this cure was performed within the space of 
eight days. Not only was the eye rendered perfect, 
but the girl was restored to good health, and has left 
the ' Home ' for a place in the country. 

" All the above statement is well authenticated and 
true. Every person in the ' Home' is acquainted with 
the circumstance, and can testify to the condition of 
the girl when she entered and when she left. Mr. and 
Mrs. Cathel, the superintendents, will also give affida- 
vits, if necessary, of the remarkable cure performed. 
They were not believers in Spiritualism, and at first 
looked upon the efforts of Mr. H. with much doubt. 
However, they must believe their own senses, and in 
such a plain and simple case it is difficult to be mis- 
taken. Who can tell whether, if Mr. H. had not been 
called to attend the girl, she might not have languished 
in partial blindness, or under the pressure of her sick- 
ness, been shrouded for the tomb ? 

" People interested in spiritual matters will find in this 
incident ample materials for wonder and investigation." 

Now we are expected, by spiritualists, to deny the fact 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 277 

here adduced, or to admit the truth of their theory. To 
our minds, however, this case lays the basis for the fol- 
lowing undeniable conclusions : — 

1. We have here the evidence of the presence and 
action of a very powerful physical cause, and absolutely 
none whatever of any ab extra spirit agency. Had this 
individual made precisely the same " passes " over per- 
sons in a normal, physical state, he would have put 
them into a deep magnetic sleep, those " passes," as 
none would deny, or imagine the contrary, in such cases, 
developing and revealing the action of an exclusively 
physical cause. In connection with the same " passes " 
over another individual in a totally different physical state, 
another and different class of exclusively physical phe- 
nomena is developed, namely, a gradual, though rapid 
change from a state of disease to that of health. We 
have the same evidence of the presence and action of 
an exclusively mundane and physical cause in one case, 
that we have in the other, and in neither case have we 
the most distant indication of the action of an ab extra 
spirit cause. There is not a single feature of the case 
upon which a ray of light is thrown by the supposition 
of such a cause. 

2. This exclusively physical cause which is so 
strongly developed in this fancied " healing medium," 
has very strong medicinal qualities, and may be em- 
ployed, with great efficacy, in certain forms of disease. 
A man of undoubted Christian character, who formerly 
resided in Poughkeepsie, N. Y., and who utterly repu- 
diates the claims of Spiritualism, had, if he has not 
now, precisely the same power that this " healing 
medium" has, and has performed, to us at least, as 
wonderful cures. We called a short time since upon a 
clergyman possessed of very strong mesmeric power. 

24 



278 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

We found him unable to leave the bedside of a sister 
of his who was afflicted, at the time, with terrible 
cramps and convulsions. When he would lay his hand 
upon her stomach, she would lie as quiet as an infant. 
The moment he would remove his hand, the convulsions 
would commence again. Yet this man, while perform- 
ing such wonders, utterly repudiated the whole system 
of Spiritualism. 

3. Persons in health peril their well-being physically 
and mentally both, when they subject themselves to the 
action of this cause, and that for the undeniable reason, 
that what is medicine to the sick, is poison to per- 
sons in health. Such are the conclusions undeniably 
deducible from this case. Yet we are expected to find 
in it, an immovable rock on which to base the high 
claims of Spiritualism. The conclusions of spiritualists, 
in their reasonings from their facts to their inferences, 
are invariably of this character. There is no connec- 
tion whatever of antecedence and consequence between 
them. 

A similar want of scientific care has characterized 
this entire movement, in the assumption of the principles. 
The whole movement has, for example, been based 
upon one grand error, namely, the assumption, that if 
the leading facts set forward by the spiritualists were 
admitted, the theory itself is established. Now this 
assumption ought to have received, at the outset, a 
most careful and rigid examination. But no such ex- 
amination was ever given it. Never were men more 
confounded than were the spiritualists in Cleveland, 
when they were told, at the commencement of the dis- 
cussion above referred to, that their facts were admitted, 
and their conclusion deduced from them denied, and 
that on this single point, we should join issue with 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 279 

them. For such an issue, they were not at all- prepared. 
The connection between their facts and conclusion 
they had never examined. Had they carefully com- 
pared their facts with others equally well authenticated, 
which result from exclusively mundane causes, they 
would have perceived clearly, that they had no facts 
which were not perfectly similar and analogous to 
those which result from such causes, and consequently 
none which present the least positive evidence of an 
ab extra spirit agency. Under the influence of the 
assumption under consideration, Professor Ware, of 
Philadelphia, became a spiritualist. Professor Faraday 
had made certain experiments to prove that tables are 
moved by means of the pressure of the hands upon 
their surface. If he had established this fact, he would 
have annihilated all evidence in favor of Spiritualism, 
as far as this class of facts is concerned. Suppose he 
had failed to do this, it by no means follows from 
hence, that Spiritualism is true. If tables are not 
moved by muscular pressure, it by no means follows 
that spirits do it. There is in such a fact no ground 
whatever for such an assumption. This, however, was 
the assumption of Professor Ware. He, consequently, 
having proved by the most decisive experiments, that 
tables are not moved by mediums, through this one 
means, became a spiritualist throughout. 

The same remarks are equally applicable to all the 
basis principles on which this movement rests. Not 
one of them can sustain a rigid scientific examination, 
for a single hour. Spiritualism has not only not made 
any contributions to science, but has, from its origin, in 
its process of self-development, violated all the princi- 
ples of true science. 



280 MODERN MYSTERIES. 



SPIRITUALISM HAS DONE NOTHING TO IMPROVE THE 

LITERATURE OF HUMANITY. 

| 

But what have " the spirits " done for the benefit of 
humanity, in the department of literature ? Have they 
elevated the tone of thinking and utterance among us ? 
Have they shadowed forth, through the creations of the 
imagination, the beautiful, the true, and the good, in 
more perfect and sublime forms than we had before ? 
The elements of thought entering into the productions 
of the " spirits " ought surely to be altogether of a 
higher order, and these elements should be blended into 
higher forms of beauty and perfection, than character- 
ize mere mundane human productions. The spirits have 
tried their hands in almost every department of litera- 
ture, such as music, poetry, fine writing, and even 
painting. As high as the celestial spheres are above 
the earth, so high should be their- productions above 
those of men in the flesh. Is it so ? Are " the spirits " 
better poets, better painters, better composers in music, 
and better writers, than our Miltons and Shakspeares, 
our Raphaels and Angelos, our Haydns and Mozarts, 
and our Burkes and Irvings? Unless they are, no 
credit is to be awarded them in the department of 
literature. On the other hand, their productions tend 
most powerfully to degrade and debase humanity, by 
degrading and debasing our conceptions of immortality. 
Now we affirm, without fear of contradiction, that the 
plane of thinking and utterance presented by Spirit- 
ualism, is not only not above, but far below, that of 
humanity in this mundane sphere. For ourselves, we 
would hardly be willing to " loose, though full of pain, 
this intellectual being." Yet we would infinitely prefer 
annihilation to an eternity with " the spirits," if Spirit- 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 281 

ualism has given us a true revelation of the thinking 
and acting which obtains among them. "We do not 
say, that no examples of good poetry, and fine writing, 
may, in instances very few and far between, be found 
in the spirit productions. But we do say, that their 
general, and almost exclusive character is such, that 
humanity ought to be ashamed of them, if they were 
presented as the productions of men in the flesh, and in 
a normal mental state. 



SECTION III. 

MORAL TENDENCY OF SPIRITUALISM. 

The moral tendency of Spiritualism now claims our 
attention. As far as this department of our subject is 
concerned, we have no hesitation in affirming, that the 
spirits have revealed no new moral principles of any 
kind. Nor have they disclosed any new applications of 
principles already kflown. They have disclosed no new 
sanctions to the idea of duty, nor have they encircled 
it with any new and more attractive motives to obedi- 
ence. Before any utterances even professedly came to 
us from " the spirits," we had a system of morality 
absolutely perfect in itself, and equally universal in its 
applications, a system illustrated, exemplified, and com- 
mended to our regard by the instructions and example 
of one who knew perfectly " what is in man " and what 
fallen humanity needs, and in whose character every 
conceivable and possible form of virtue is visibly em- 
bodied in absolute perfection, a system, too, enforced 
upon us by motives and sanctions of infinite and 
eternal weight; a system, finally, to which absolutely 
nothing can he added, and from which nothing can be 

24* 



282 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

taken away, without visibly marring its beauty and per- 
fection. Spiritualism comes in professedly as a higher 
Hght, to supplant " that dearest of books that excels 
every other," the only book that embodies this divine 
system of moral legislation. Yet every principle of 
duty which it does enforce, it copies, and very poorly 
too, from this rejected volume. At the same time there 
is intermingled in the moral teachings of " the spirits " 
principles of the most pernicious tendency. Let us con- 
sider a few facts and examples which tend to reveal and 
expose the moral tendency of Spiritualism : — 

1. The known character of a large portion of the medi- 
ums, to say the least, does not present the system to our 
regard, as tending to any moral good. If spirits are 
communicating to us, in these manifestations, they must 
know the character of their mediums, being not only 
able to witness their external acts, but to read their 
secret thoughts and purposes. If men in the flesh are 
known by the company which they keep, spirits must 
be known by the mediums through whom they volun- 
tarily communicate. Spirits cannot preserve a charac- 
ter for moral purity, wiien they will continue to com- 
municate with us, through persons whose character we 
and they know to be bad, and nothing can be of a 
worse moral tendency, than for circles to sit around such 
persons, with the idea, that through them, communica- 
tions are being received from spirits inhabiting the celes- 
tial spheres. The spirits surely have not been very care- 
ful to manifest their regard for moral purity in the 
selection of their mediums. One such individual, for 
example, they will never communicate through, except- 
ing when he is drunk, and then they are ready to use 
him for that high purpose. Others, in some cases, are 
known to be so morally impure as to exclude them 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 283 

totally from virtuous society, excepting when virtuous 
individuals gather around them in these circles, as the 
favored mediums of " the spirits." One of the grand 
themes of spiritualists is the moral corruptions of the 
church and ministry. They themselves, however, have 
not the effrontery to insinuate, that the spirit of God 
dwells with and communicates to men, through persons 
thus corrupt. Yet these very men are loudly calling 
upon us to encircle mediums more depraved than they 
dare represent the church to be, and to encircle these per- 
sons for the purpose of communing through them, with 
the pure spirits from heaven itself. Nothing can be of 
a worse moral tendency than such associations. 

2. The character of "the spirits " themselves, as they 
stand revealed before us, renders all our imaginary inter- 
course with them, as our intellectual and moral teachers 
and guides, of the most pernicious moral tendency. 
When we select for ourselves teachers and guides 
whom we know to be morally corrupt, or when we 
remain blind to the moral corruptions of such persons, 
after their character stands revealed to us, we are sub- 
ject to the most debasing and pernicious moral influ- 
ence conceivable. What is the moral tendency of 
Spiritualism in this one respect ? 

In general, we would remark, that not one of " the 
spirits" bears the marks of even common honesty among 
men in the flesh. There is not one of them who, when 
put to the test, will not make false assertions in respect 
to subjects in regard to which real spirits must know 
the truth, that will not profess absolute knowledge when 
their answers reveal them as profoundly ignorant, and 
will not make positive assertions when real spirits must 
know that they are only guessing with a perfect uncer- 
tainty in regard to the result, and all this in circum- 



284 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

stances in which they must be aware of the fact that 
their falsifying will infallibly be detected. Now common 
liars, even among men, are not in any way guilty of 
such flagrant conduct. While, therefore, it would be 
very hasty in us to say, " that all men are liars," it is 
using very mild language indeed to say that all " the 
spirits" cannot be any thing else. What should we 
think of men who should be constantly making the false 
utterances which " the spirits " are in all spirit circles 
throughout the wide world? 

There is one certain characteristic of conscious quack- 
ery and mountebankism which " the spirits " possess so 
preeminently, as to mark them infallibly as deceivers 
and hypocrites of no ordinary character. We refer to 
their continuous harping upon one theme, human pro- 
gression, and to their absolute promises of leading lost 
humanity out of all its mazes of darkness, error, and su- 
perstition, into one universal millennium of light, knowl- 
edge, purity, and blessedness, and then revealing nothing 
for this end but what real spirits cannot but know to be 
the most senseless puerilities conceivable, — puerilities 
in the presence of which, as they affirm, that great cen- 
tral light of our moral being, the Bible, is to be thrown 
into a deep and permanent eclipse. Now we affirm 
without fear of contradiction, that such facts infallibly 
mark " the spirits," supposing these communications to 
proceed from such, as deceivers and hypocrites of no 
ordinary character. The Bible, while it utters hardly a 
syllable upon the subject of progression, evinces most 
infallibly the divinity of its origin by revealing eternal 
principles, truths, and realities, in dwelling upon and 
harmonizing with which, universal mind cannot but 
eternally expand and progress in beauty and perfection. 
" The spirits " talk endlessly of human progression, and 



THE MISSION OP " THE SPIRITS." 285 

then present themes upon which the mind cannot dwell 
without progress in one direction exclusively, namely, 
hopeless puerility, if not idiocy. Now if these are real 
disembodied spirits which are giving forth these com- 
munications, and especially if they are the personages 
they affirm themselves to be, then we affirm that they 
cannot but be aware of the downward tendency of their 
communications, as contrasted with their own promises 
and professions in regard to them, and that consequently 
they stand revealed in them as self-conscious deceivers 
and hypocrites of the grossest kind. 

3. The moral character of these communications, 
those we refer to which are now being given forth, and 
which, according to Mr. Adin Ballou, one of the oldest 
and most distinguished spiritualists in the country, is 
but the beginning of what is yet to be revealed, and but 
the faint foreshadowing of what is yet to be done among 
us, on the authority of these revelations, — the moral 
character of these latter-day revelations, we say, leaves 
us no ground to doubt the character of the spirits, sup- 
posing them to be the authors of these revelations, on 
the one hand, and of the moral tendency of Spiritualism, 
on the other. We will give a single extract in illustra- 
tion, an extract from a work of high authority, entitled, 
"Astounding facts from the spirit world, witnessed at 
the house of J. A. Gridley, Southampton, Mass." Mr. 
G. is represented as an eminent physician. A large 
portion of this work, as we are informed, first appeared 
in the New Era of Boston. When we providentially 
met with this production and obtained a loan of it for 
examination, we called at the office of the Spiritual 
Telegraph, New York, and inquired whether it was 
regarded as a genuine revelation from " the spirits ? " 
We were told in reply that it was. Yet they did not 



286 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

hold tnemselves responsible for the truth of the state- 
ments made, as the same diversity of opinion prevailed 
among " the spirits " as among men in the flesh. This 
work, however, was one of the spirit productions which 
they were accustomed to sell. We shall defile our pages 
with as short an extract from it as possible, and yet give 
the idea of the revelation of " the spirits " to which we 
refer. After saying that " no good and advancing spirits 
below the fifth degree have aught to do with the sexual 
relation in any sense whatever," " the spirits," after 
affirming that in this degree " the male is generally and 
naturally positive to the female," that the former " can 
readily fill " (communicate the higher or spiritual life to) 
" the negative " (the female) " by contact," and that 
" the generative organs " " are the vehicles through 
which the spiritual life is often, though by no means 
always, disposed to flow," they proceed to say, that in 
this higher circle " any positive spirit, has free access to 
any negative spirit where there is affinity — that though 
the male may have a female companion who is consti- 
tutionally adapted to be to him a better help-meet on 
the whole than any other, and so generally accompanies 
him, yet the latter has no jealousies and knows no ex- 
clusiveness, that she is glad to have the life of God 
increased in any way, and anywhere — that the same 
liberty will erelong be given to men on earth," etc. 
Now if these are real spirit voices, and we have no evi- 
dence that any of these revelations come from " the 
spirits," if these do not, then we hesitate not to say, that 
they are none others than "devils damned" who are 
here speaking to us. And the fact that " the spirits," 
supposing them to be spirit revelations, cannot but be 
aware that such revelations are proceeding from their 
midst to corrupt still further fallen humanity, and do not 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 287 

thunder forth their united reprobation of these senti- 
ments, and of those who utter them, fully implicates 
them in these morally desolating abominations. We 
read, that in ancient times, men sometimes " harbored 
angels unawares." Until " the spirits " free themselves 
from all participation in these revelations, which they 
would have done ere this, had they been morally pure, 
it is quite evident, that we cannot harbor them without 
harboring devils, and that while we know who and 
what they are. 

It may be said in reply to the above, that spiritualists, 
as a body, have never adopted these sentiments, but have 
rejected them. This is not denied. Yet they have ac- 
cepted the work avowing them as a truly spirit revela- 
tion, and have, as such, commended it to public regard 
and patronage. What would even spiritualists say, if 
a leading Christian library was advertised for public 
sale, a library embracing a single volume containing 
such sentiments ? The fact that " the spirits " on the 
one hand, and spiritualists on the other, have not openly 
repudiated the book, and its authors, holding up both 
alike to universal reprobation, is sufficient evidence of 
the downward tendency of the system. 

4. The very circumstances in which persons meet in 
these circles, tend most powerfully to generate precisely 
such moral feelings and sentiments. For ourselves, we 
are not at all surprised at the above revelations. We 
long since believed and affirmed that they would proceed 
from this very source, and have only wondered that 
they have not made their appearance earlier. We 
affirm that meeting in these circles is adapted to gener- 
ate influences and tendencies which naturally prompt 
to such sentiments and to corresponding actions, and 
finally to draw from " the spirits " a similarly licentious 



288 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

morality ; the immutable law of their teachings being 
to sanctify by their authority the sentiments, whatever 
they may be, of the circles which entertain them as 
teachers and guides. For men and women to get 
together in circles, and there, that spirits, they know 
not whom, and coming they know not from whence, 
may take the most complete control of their mental 
and physical powers, divesting themselves as far as 
possible of all independent thought or purpose, tends to 
but one result, to banish rational thought, and to im- 
part to the sensual in man the most full and controlling 
development, and finally to prepare the mind to receive 
the most senseless puerilities as the perfection of wis- 
dom, and the most licentious principles and sentiments 
as the highest and purest morality. 

This we affirm to be the certain tendency of this 
mission of " the spirits," a tendency in which their 
moral character, supposing them to be real substan- 
tialities, is being distinctly unmasked. For ourselves, 
we would as soon inhale the malaria of our brothels 
and pest-houses as a means of moral and physical 
health, as subject ourselves to the teachings of " the 
spirits " as a means of intellectual and spiritual growth 
and development. 



SUMMARY STATEMENT OF THE TENDENCIES OF SPIRITUALISM. 

Spiritualism, then, we regard, with very few and 
slight exceptions, as, in its fundamental tendencies, 
" evil, and only evil continually," and that for the fol- 
lowing reasons, among others : — 

1. With the exceptions named, its medicinal effects 
in a few forms of disease, it tends to no form of good 
to humanity, physical, intellectual, or moral. 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 289 

2. Subjection to the influences generated in these 
circles, very strongly tends to a great, and in many in- 
stances, fatal derangement of the physical system of 
those in health, and to a corresponding derangement of 
their mental powers. 

3. While it tends to unsettle our faith in a revelation 
absolutely sufficient and reliable in regard to all ques- 
tions pertaining to human duty and destiny, Spiritual- 
ism induces a reliance, for information on the greatest 
of human concernments, — questions pertaining to God, 
duty, immortality, and retribution, — upon sources the 
most unreliable and deceptive conceivable. 

4. It tends to abstract and withhold our regard from 
all that is reaUy great, beautiful, true, and good, and to 
generate an absorbing interest in the most childish 
subjects, and the most puerile and senseless forms of 
thought. 

5. It tends, in the strongest manner, to degrade and 
limit the action of the human mind, by giving to these 
senseless puerilities the greatest influence over it, in 
consequence of inducing the belief, that they are the 
high forms of thinking descended to us, from the high 
intelligences of the universe. Nothing but this one 
idea, — the origin of these spirit productions, — has 
saved them hitherto from the universal contempt and 
ridicule of the world ; and this is what imparts to them 
their great power to degrade and debase human think- 
ing just as far as these productions become objects of 
public interest. 

6. It presents, while it tends to nothing good, the 
greatest facilities for artful and unprincipled men and 
women to practice the grossest and most dangerous 
deceptions upon the public, and holds out to such per- 
sons the most persuasive motives to perpetrate such 

25 



290 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

criminalities. To gain the greatest celebrity and influ- 
ence, individuals of this class must become mediums of 
the most wonderful manifestations, physical and mental. 
Hence, the so frequent resort to deception and imposi- 
tion, on the part of mediums, and there is no place so 
favorable to the perpetration of such crimes as the spirit 
circles. 

7. "While Spiritualism has already begun to develop 
the worst and most debasing moral principles that the 
seethings of human depravity have yet thrown upon the 
surface of society, the intrinsic tendencies of the sys- 
tem renders it certain, that this is but the beginning of 
what is yet to be. 

8. The influences naturally and necessarily generated 
in these circles, tend ultimately, with an unerring cer- 
tainty, to secure an open and unblushing conformity to 
those principles. 

Such is an honest statement of an honest estimate 
on our part, of the real tendencies of this system, as it 
now stands before the public. We leave the portrait to 
speak for itself. 



CHAPTEK III. 



MISCELLANEOUS TOPICS. 



A few topics of a miscellaneous character, but which 
have an important bearing upon our present investiga- 
tions, have been reserved for a distinct and separate con- 
sideration, in the present chapter. The principles which 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 291 

we have elucidated, will be found to be quite extensive 
and important in their applications. Through them, 
many facts which have hitherto appeared utterly mys- 
terious and inexplicable, admit of a ready and consis- 
tent explanation. We will specify a few of these facts, 
as examples : — 



SECTION I. 

SPECIAL FACTS CONNECTED "WITH SPIRITUALISM. 

There are a certain class of what may be denomi- 
nated special facts connected with these spirit manifes- 
tations, facts upon which very special dependence is 
placed by spiritualists, in establishing the claims of their 
theory, and which consequently demand a particular 
notice, before closing our discussion of this subject. 
Speaking mediums, for example, will sometimes copy the 
manner and voice of persons they never saw, persons 
now dead. Writing mediums copy, in a similar man- 
ner, the handwriting of such individuals. Individuals, 
in these circles, and after having been subject to the in- 
fluences there developed, have peculiar tactual impres- 
sions, as of individuals taking them by the hand, or grasp- 
ing, or affectionately touching their limbs, etc. In other 
instances still, spirits stand revealed apparently in visi- 
ble form to mediums and others, and, as it seems to 
them, hold audible conversation with them. Finally, 
some mediums speak and write in languages with which 
they are totally unacquainted. Now we affirm in gen- 
eral that no argument can be legitimately deduced from 
such facts, their reality being admitted, in favor of 
Spiritualism, for the obvious reason, that precisely simi- 
lar facts occur from known mundane causes. Here, as we 



292 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

have already observed, lies the great error of spiritualists 
in all their facts and reasonings. They have entirely 
overlooked the fundamental and undeniable principle, 
that they must adduce facts which never result from the 
action of exclusively mundane causes, before they can 
infer, as even probable, the conclusion of an ab extra 
spirit agency in the production of any phenomena in the 
world around us. Let us more particularly examine the 
different classes of facts above referred to. 



COPYING THE VOICE, MANNER, AND HANDWRITING OF 
INDIVIDUALS. 

In regard to the class of cases in which mediums im- 
itate more or less accurately, the voice, manner, and 
handwriting of persons they have never seen, we 
remark, that no argument can be adduced from such 
facts in favor of Spiritualism, for the following rea- 
sons : — 

1. In the spirit circles themselves, these phenomena 
do occur, when no spirits at all, and especially the 
spirits supposed, can be present. The case cited above, 
which occurred in Cleveland, is a very striking and con- 
clusive example of this class of facts. The manner, 
voice, and forms of expression of the young man are 
quite peculiar and unique ; yet they were all so perfectly 
imitated by a total stranger, and that a female, that it 
seemed to his mother that her son stood directly in her 
presence, that son at the same time being not dead, but 
alive. No one also will have the credulity to suppose 
that the medium, a young lady in Boston, imitated 
the handwriting of her cousin, through the influence of 
the spirit of that individual, or of any other disembodied 
spirit. That which is done without the presence and 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 293 

agency of spirits, can never, without a violation of all 
the laws of correct reasoning, be adduced to prove their 
presence and agency. 

2. These same phenomena occur under the influence 
of exclusively mundane causes, being the not uncom- 
mon facts which attend the action of the odylic force, 
as developed in cases of mesmerism and clairvoyance. 

3. It would be an exception to the law which controls 
the action of this force, an exception for which no ac- 
count could be given, did these facts not occur in con- 
nection with these manifestations, supposing spirits to 
have no connection with them. 



TACTUAL IMPRESSIONS. 

Precisely similar remarks apply to all the facts com- 
ing under the class of tactual impressions. The mother 
referred to, as soon as she came under the influence of 
the force developed in the spirit circle, had the same 
sensations that she would have done, had her hand been 
grasped by some friend in affectionate salutation ; yet no 
spirit was there. A gentleman who had had great ex- 
perience of the action of this same force, told us that on 
waking from sleep at one time, a sleep which occurred 
after he had been subject to the strong action of that 
force, all consciousness with him was confined exclu- 
sively to his right arm. He at first honestly supposed 
that his own body was that of another person lying by 
his side, and when he took hold of his own left hand, 
he supposed he had grasped that of another individual. 
These tactual impressions are, of almost all others, of 
the least weight in favor of Spiritualism. If just such 
impressions were not experienced in these circles, by 
those who subject themselves to the influences there 

25* 



294 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

generated, the facts of Spiritualism would be more un- 
accountable than they now are. If these impressions 
are conclusive for the presence and agency of the spirits 
of men as the cause of such phenomena, the sensa- 
tions of persons in delirium tremens, and when affected 
with other forms of disease, are equally conclusive for 
the presence and agency of the spirits of serpents crawl- 
ing over and encircling their bodies. 



SEEING SPIRITS. 

But spiritualists proclaim, that mediums and others 
have, at times, what seems evident to them at least, 
a direct and immediate vision of spirits, of their form, 
size, and complexion. That they have such visions, 
we have no disposition to doubt or deny. The ques- 
tion for us to decide is, are these visions valid for 
the reality of their supposed objects ? That they are 
not, we argue from the following considerations : — 

1. Many of these visions are of such a character, as 
to preclude the supposition, that they can be real per- 
ceptions of objects external to the organism of the per- 
cipient himself, and this class of visions must be held 
as valid if any are. Judge Edmonds, for example, 
affirms, that the spirits which he has seen are from three- 
inches to twenty feet in height, the largest that he has 
seen being a majestic and well-proportioned female 
twenty feet high ; that he has seen spirits who have been 
eighteen thousand years in the celestial spheres, and yet 
retain the form of monkeys, while others have hoofs 
and horns, such as he has seen in pictures. This is 
what he stated on his western tour, the past year, and 
his visions are just as palpable and valid as those of any 
other medium or spiritualist. Any persons who credit 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 295 

such visions as these, we shall not stop to argue with. 
They are entirely beyond the reach of reason and logic 
both. 

2. Precisely similar visions occur, when we know 
absolutely, that spirits are not seen at all, because the 
spirits which do appear, if any do, are actually alive, 
and in the body, and at great distances from the per- 
cipient, when the visions occur. We shall hereafter, in 
another connection, adduce a very striking case of this 
kind, a case in which a mother when wide awake saw 
the spirit of her son, was addressed by him, and spoke 
to him in reply, and yet neither that spirit, nor any other 
was present at all, as an object of vision, the son being 
at that very moment alive, and about sixty miles distant 
from the mother. The perception, in this case, was as 
distinct and palpable, as in any that can be named. 
The mere fact, that persons appear to themselves to see 
spirits, is therefore no certain evidence, that spirits are 
present, as objects of perception. 

3. Precisely similar and equally distinct and palpable 
visions are well known to attend certain forms of dis- 
ease, and also the action of certain medicinal substances 
introduced into the physical system, and that when no 
one has the folly to suppose, that spirits are present as 
objects of perception. We have only to refer to the 
journals and productions of medical science to find the 
most abundant and absolute verification of the above 
statements. How absurd and unphilosophical is it then, 
to refer to this same kind of visions as proof of the 
presence and agency of spirits in these so called spirit 
manifestations ! 

4. It is perfectly common for persons, under the ac- 
tion of the very force developed in the spirit circles, to 
have visions perfectly distinct and palpable of objects 



296 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

which have no existence whatever. The mesmeric and 
clairvoyant subject for example, sees a meeting-house, 
a mountain, lake, ocean, or river; a man, angel, or 
devil ; a serpent, a centaur, or spirit, and all with the 
greatest possible distinctness, just in accordance with 
the mere imaginings of the mesmerizer. On the sup- 
position, therefore, that spirits have no connection 
whatever with these so called spirit manifestations, it 
would be an exception to a general law, an exception 
for which no account could be given, if precisely the 
visions under consideration did not constitute a some- 
what prominent portion of the leading phenomena of 
Spiritualism. Of the validity of its high claims, they 
present not the least shadow of evidence. 

SPEAKING AND WRITING IN UNKNOWN LANGUAGES. 

There are no higher claims set forward by Spiritual- 
ism, than those which pertain to the asserted fact, that 
mediums, in some instances, speak and write, in lan- 
guages with which they are totally unacquainted. This 
class of spirit phenomena demands of us, therefore, a 
somewhat particular notice. In regard to such phe- 
nomena, we remark : — 

1. That a very large portion of them, a vast majority 
in our judgment, are mere impositions originated for 
purposes of deception. We have carefully traced out 
not a few of these cases, and have found that those 
who originated them were "liars from the beginning." 
A very devoted spiritualist in Cleveland, for example, 
told us, that he once had a medium in his family who 
claimed to speak various Indian languages. At length, 
some natives came to the city belonging to three differ- 
ent tribes. He invited them to his house, that they 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 297 

might converse with the spirits of their ancestors, 
through the medium referred to. The spirits, who had 
been spealdng before, however, were all dumb, as soon 
as the strangers appeared. A gentleman informed us, 
a short time since, that he was once present at a meet- 
ing in a town in northern Ohio, where a distinguished 
medium, a female, was " bewitching the people with her 
sorceries," professing to preach to them under the im- 
mediate inspiration of the highest spirits from the celes- 
tial spheres. At the close of her harangues, she was 
accustomed to astonish her auditory, by speaking to 
them in " unknown tongues," generally in Indian. 
This gentleman, after listening awhile to such utter- 
ances, himself gave utterance to forms of senseless gib- 
berish, as in a similar language. The pythoness re- 
sponded, and quite a lengthy dialogue was held be- 
tween them. She informed the audience that the 
stranger was speaking in one Indian language, and she 
in another, but that she perfectly understood all he said. 
They very earnestly solicited the stranger to interpret 
what had passed between him and the speaker. He 
replied, that he would attend their meetings the next 
day (Sabbath) when they might, perhaps, hear again a 
similar conversation. At the close of the spirit dis- 
course, the next day, the dialogue was resumed, and 
continued at great length. The audience became im- 
portunate for an interpretation of what was passing 
before them. The stranger at length disclosed to them 
the fact, that though the medium had affirmed to them 
that he was speaking in one language and she in 
another, and that she perfectly understood his meaning, 
he had not uttered a word, in any language, nor had 
he given utterance to a single thought, in all that had 
passed between himself and her, and that he now un- 



298 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

masked her before them as a wilful liar and deceiver. 
It is a well-ascertained part of the known trade of a 
large portion, if not a majority of mediums thus to lie 
and deceive, and no field presents such facilities for the 
perpetration of such impositions, as this " speaking with 
tongues " in the forms in which they practise it, a form 
wholly unlike that presented in the Scriptures of truth. 
Those, therefore, are miserable dupes who suffer them- 
selves to be led away by such shallow devices. 

2. A large portion of these cases, also, are monstrous 
exaggerations of very trifling occurrences, which in 
themselves present no difficulties whatever, and, above 
all, no indications of the presence of spirits. As an 
illustration, we would refer to " the lengthy communi- 
cation " in French given forth in a circle in Cleveland, a 
sublime and wonderful essay, as we were given to under- 
stand, but which, when literally translated, expressed 
the great thought, " My pretty little son." 

3. Other communications of this class are found to 
be given forth in no language whatever, but to be 
constituted of English words with terminations of 
foreign ones, "which the mediums had heard before 
without understanding their meaning. In illustration, 
we present the following fact, which is related by a 
writer in the North American Review. 

"In matters other than where ' opinion is involved, 
there may be traced the same subjective element. We 
recently received from a medium of transparent ingenu- 
ousness and singleness of character, certain metrical 
productions which she said were written through her 
hand by the spirit of John Milton. Two of them were 
in English verse, in sentiment highly devout, though 
misty and dreamy, in style and rhythm certainly not 
beyond the capacity of the medium in her normal 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 299 

state, though she said she was not in the habit of 
writing verse. The third kind our correspondent said 
was in Latin, to her literally an unknown language, 
and she requested a translation. It was inscribed " A 
Latin Sonnet." But it was not a sonnet, and was not 
in Latin, nor in any language with which we are con- 
versant, yet it had throughout a Latin sound, and the 
terminations were Latin. Now the father of this me- 
dium had for years received into his family boys fitting 
for college, and others unfit to remain in college. She 
had undoubtedly heard in her youth a great deal of 
Latin read and repeated, and the so called sonnet was 
evidently composed of sounds and fragments that had 
lingered thus long in her memory, to be reproduced in 
this written dream. 

4. Other cases are found to be simple remembrances 
of utterances which the mediums had before heard, 
without understanding the same, remembrances pre- 
cisely similar to what occurs in other instances. Mr. 
Coleridge, for example, gives an account of a young 
girl in Germany, who had always labored as a domes- 
tic, who in her last sickness repeated whole sentences 
from the Greek, Hebrew, Arabic, and Syriac Scriptures. 
On examination, it was found, that these very passages 
she had heard a learned clergyman read when resident 
in his family. Many instances of a similar kind have 
occurred. Their occurrence, therefore, in connection 
with these mediums, is no proof whatever of the pres- 
ence and agency of spirits. 

5. It is a well-known and not at all uncommon fact, 
that individuals, under the influence of the very force 
generated in these circles, will understand persons when 
reading or speaking in languages which the former do 
not understand, and will reply to the latter in their own 



300 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

language. We have already adduced cases of this 
kind, and need not repeat them here. That precisely 
similar phenomena should appear in these circles, there- 
fore, is no more than should be expected, and their 
appearance is no evidence whatever of the interposi- 
tion of spirits. 

Now we affirm that no case of speaking with 
tongues has ever occurred in connection with this spirit 
movement, that does not properly and really belong to 
one or the other of the classes above named. Of all the 
claims ever set forward in behalf of Spiritualism, this, 
to our minds, is among the most shallow and presump- 
tuous, coming nearer than any thing else almost, to a 
justification of its opposers, in affirming the whole 
movement to be nothing but a deliberate imposition 
upon the public. 

FACT WITNESSED BY J. G. WHITTIEE, ESQ. 

The following fact witnessed by J. G. Whittier, Esq., 
as naturally presents itself in this connection, perhaps, 
as any other, and demands a passing notice. Mr. W., 
on one occasion, asked a medium if she could read the 
contents of a paper which he would fold up, what was 
written being inside, and placed under her hand. She 
expressed the belief that she could do it. Mr. W. then 
retired from the circle, and placing himself where no 
one could see his motions but himself, wrote upon a 
slip of paper the word " Truth," and having folded up 
the paper, with the word inside, returned and placed the 
object under the medium's hand. The medium, her 
hand covering the paper all the while, and after she had 
waited, as in deep thought, a few moments, slowly 
repeated the letters, s-r-u-t-h. That is. not right, says 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 301 

Mr. W. Try again. Again and again, the same let- 
ters were repeated. On being assured, that she was 
wrong, her reply was, " That is the way I read it." 
On opening the paper, Mr. W. found that, by a mistake 
of his own, the letter T had been written so as to re- 
semble that of S. On this fact, which spiritualists 
would no doubt claim as a great triumph of their 
theory, we remark : — 

1. That the medium, in this case, most evidently had 
a direct and immediate vision of what was in the paper 
referred to. This was what she affirmed to be true, and 
of its truth she was unquestionably distinctly con- 
scious. 

2. This case presents not the least conceivable degree 
of evidence of the presence and agency of disembodied 
spirits, as its cause. The individual under the unde- 
niable influence of a physical cause, had a direct vision 
of a physical object, the letters referred to. How could 
spirits, if they were present, help the vision of this 
individual, or cause that physical force to induce it? 
Minds constituting the circle could not, by their thoughts, 
feelings, and acts of will directly induce such vision in 
the medium, or cause the force acting in her organism 
to do it. How, then, could disembodied spirits uncon- 
nected with that organism, induce, by their thoughts, 
feelings, and acts of will, (the only way in which they 
could produce such results, if at all,) such vision in her, 
or cause the force referred to, to do it ? To us, it is a 
matter of no little wonder that such facts are re- 
ferred to spirits out of the body, or to any force out of, 
and unconnected with, the organism of the medium, as 
their cause, not a ray of light being thrown upon the 
facts by such a supposition. 

3. Precisely similar perceptions, and those far more 

26 



302 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

mysterious, are well known to result from the action of 
this force, in other circumstances. Dr. Wayland men- 
tions the case of a Miss Reynolds, of Springfield, Mass., 
who, when deeply blindfolded, and shut up in a dark 
room, could even then read the finest print. Others 
have been known to read sentences when the paper on 
which they were written were encased in lead. All 
these things have been done in relations where no one 
could imagine even that spirits caused the perceptions. 
How, then, can such a perception as this be adduced as 
proof of the truth of Spiritualism ? 

4. This case presents another very clear instance in 
which an individual is at the same time what is called 
a medium, and also a clairvoyant, and while it proves 
the identity of the clairvoyant and spirit phenomena, it 
also explains the manner in which new information is 
sometimes brought into these circles, and that uncon- 
nected with spirits. The same influence, a mere physi- 
cal cause, which enabled this medium to read that 
paper, might enable her to report, in some instances, 
facts which lie at any distance beyond the vision and 
knowledge of any one present, and her visions might be 
embodied in some communication given forth as from 
spirits. 

5. This case, we remark finally, presents very strong 
evidence against the claims of Spiritualism ; because if 
such a fact may occur, and we have shown that it did 
occur, without the agency of spirits, any other phenom- 
enon of Spiritualism may occur without such agency. 
This is undeniable. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 303 



SECTION LL 

SPECIAL FACTS "WHICH REQUIRE A PARTICULAR EXPLANA- 
TION. 

There are a class of what may properly be denomi- 
nated special facts which individuals not fully con- 
vinced of the truth of Spiritualism, have met with, and 
by which, while rejecting the theory for what they are 
compelled to regard as sufficient and incontestable evi- 
dence, yet presents no little embarrassment to their 
minds. Take the following from Rev. Charles Beech- 
er's " Review of Spiritual Manifestations." " Thus in a 
circle the table addresses itself to a young man, A. B., 
and says, ' I met you in Rome. George Inman.' A. 
B. remembers no such person. The table is asked to 
assist his memory, and replies, 'Cigars — not burn.' 
Yet A. B. remains oblivious, nor can any of his friends 
who travelled with him recall any person of that name, 
nor any incident suggestive of incombustible cigars." 
On subsequent occasions this individual was annoyed 
with a repetition of the same communications, without 
at all, as it would appear, reviving in his mind a 
remembrance of the person or circumstance referred to. 
The appearance, and the conclusion of the spiritualist 
here is, that there is a spirit present who is vainly en- 
deavoring to induce a recollection of himself in the 
person present, and that when the name, person, and 
incident suggested can none of them be recalled. We 
have two remarks to make in regard to such a case : 
1. Until the circumstances of time and place are re- 
called, we should hold the whole affair to be a mere 
fiction framed and designedly introduced by the me- 



304 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

dium, or some one present, for purposes of deception, or 
a spontaneous creation of the imagination of A. B. him- 
self, or of some other individual present. The repetition 
of the communication after its first introduction pre- 
sents no mystery at all. It is, on the other hand, just 
what should be expected. The very strangeness of the 
communication would fix it upon the mind so firmly 
that no other result could be anticipated. 2. Should 
the remembrance of the person and facts, with the cir- 
cumstances of time and place, be subsequently recalled, 
then we should say, that in our experience, to say the 
least, the fact is very common indeed, for the remem- 
brance of real scenes to recur to the mind, in just such 
broken and disjointed fragments as these. Some name 
is suggested, and then some fact, or vice versa, each 
perfectly isolated from any real scene that we can, at 
the time, recall. The case, then, in whatever light it is 
viewed, presents no indications whatever of the presence 
of spirits. 

In another instance, a gentleman put a question of 
this kind to the spirit of a friend with whom he was 
professedly communicating : " Have I, in my posses- 
sion, a token of affectionate remembrance which I 
received from you ? " The answer was, " Yes," and an 
object was named which accorded with the recollection 
of the inquirer. " Have I any other such token ? " An- 
swer, " Yes." Not recollecting any such object, he 
specified a number of articles. When the term " book " 
was pronounced, there was an affirmative response. 
Subsequent reflection verified the communication, 
though, at the time, he could not recall the fact that 
such a token had ever been received by him from that 
individual. Here is the appearance, to say the least, of 
one mind attempting, and with final success, to revive 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 305 

in the mind of another what is to the latter a forgotten 
fact, and the mind accomplishing this object a disem- 
bodied spirit " How," we were once asked, " do you 
account for such a fact as that, in accordance with 
your theory ? " Our answer to such an inquiry is at 
hand. When the first inquiry was correctly answered, 
an undefined impression rested upon the inquirer's 
mind, that this was not the only object of the kind that 
he had received from that friend, and this impression 
occasioned the asking of the second question, Have I 
any other such token ? This impression would attach to 
the term " book," the instant it was pronounced, though 
some time might elapse before the fact of the gift 
would become an object of distinct recollection, and 
this was all that was requisite to induce the rap indi- 
cating that the right object had been named. There is 
no difficulty whatever, in accounting, in accordance 
with the known laws of mind, for such a fact, without 
supposing at all the interposition of spirits as its cause. 
A case which we adduced in the progress of our 
investigations, prepares the way for a clear and satis- 
factory explanation of the communication which a 
friend received, that a daughter whom he supposed to 
have been in France, was in London, a case which 
represents a class of facts in Spiritualism demanding 
explanation. The case was that of Prof. A., who asked 
the spirit of a deceased sister to specify the given name 
of their father, and another and different name was 
given, that of their brother. The professor had j ust before 
been putting questions concerning the brother, and his 
thoughts instantly reverted to him from the father, as 
soon as the question referred to was put. This would 
have made no difference, had the spirit of the sister 
been really responding. As it was, this recurrence to 

26* 



306 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the brother occasioned the response that was received. 
So our friend had just asked the spirit of his deceased 
wife, to designate the present locality of their eldest 
daughter, and the correct answer, London, was given. 
The question next put, was, where is the daughter next 
younger? The mind of the inquirer, as in the case of 
the Professor, instantly and very naturally recurred to 
the object just before named, and this occasioned the 
response that was received, a response which happened, 
in this case, to be right. The unexpected answer, from 
its unexpectedness, would be present to the inquirer's 
mind, whenever the question was repeated, and this 
would occasion a repetition of the same response. 
This to our mind is the true account of this case. 
Multitudes of surprising revelations are unquestionably 
thus obtained. The one, in a thousand, that happens 
to be right, is put down to the credit of Spiritualism, 
and the nine hundred and ninety-nine wrong ones set 
aside as of no account. 

We once heard an advocate of Spiritualism, in a 
public meeting, give the following case, as demonstra- 
tive proof of the truth of his theory. An individual 
asked the spirit of a deceased friend this question : 
What was your age at the time of your death? A 
certain number was given, which did not accord with 
the recollection of the inquirer. On his way home, 
however, as he passed by the city cemetery, he saw 
upon the gravestone of that friend the precise number 
given in the spirit circle. The speaker, in this instance, 
instead of proving his own theory, betrayed his igno- 
rance of the well-known laws of mind. In the memory 
of the inquirer were two impressions in regard to the 
age of that friend, the one particularly thought of when 
he put the question, and that which he, no doubt, had 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 307 

often seen before on the tombstone. After putting the 
question, the latter was suggested, and occasioned the 
response, and that without becoming an object of dis- 
tinct remembrance, as the former was, nothing almost 
being more common than such forms of recollection. 



SECTION in. 

PHENOMENA OF DREAMING, AND PREMONITIONS OF FUTURE 
EVENTS. 

There are cases in which persons in sleep seem to 
have a direct and immediate vision of objects at a great 
distance from them. A case of this kind has been 
recently reported in the Cincinnati papers, as having 
occurred in that city. A lady who had a very endeared 
brother in California, as she fell asleep, saw him in his 
log cabin rise suddenly and very carefully from his bed, 
and having girded on his weapons, look with an intense 
gaze at a certain opening in the wall at the head of his 
bed. Soon a hand holding a dagger was seen passing 
in through that hole, and passing on silently till the 
point of the weapon was directed to the spot where the 
brother had been lying down, a deadly thrust was given. 
The brother, in the mean time, with a single stroke with 
his bowie knife, completely separated the arm from the 
body without. A terrible cry was heard, and the brother, 
rushing out of the cabin, dragged in the body of the 
assassin, who was in the last agonies of death, in conse- 
quence of having stabbed himself with his other hand. 
Such, in substance, was the vision which was related 
by the sister the next morning, and subsequently became 
a matter of interesting conversation among her friends. 
A few weeks subsequent, she received a letter from her 



308 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

brother, revealing to her the fact, that on the very night 
in which she had the vision, the identical scene, in all 
particulars, as it then presented itself to her mind, actu- 
ally occurred in his cabin. Whether this is an authentic 
case or not, and we see no reasons whatever to call in 
question its authenticity, facts of a precisely similar 
character do arise, and this case may consequently be 
taken to represent the class. Shall we regard this as a 
mere accidental coincidence, or an actual vision of what 
did occur ? We take the latter supposition. How shall 
we account for the facts on that supposition ? The 
brain of the sister, as we suppose, during sleep, came 
under the influence of the odylic force, and at the same 
moment happened to be in odylic rapport with the scene 
referred to, or more correctly, perhaps, with the brain of 
the brother. A vision of the scene, on that supposition, 
could not, from the nature of this force, but have oc- 
curred. This perception would have - occurred, had the 
individual been awake or asleep. The distance of the 
scene from the percipient made no difference whatever. 
In all ages, dreams of this kind have sometimes oc- 
curred, and in all cases, excepting when supernaturally 
induced, unquestionably from this cause. 

We take the following case from " Rogers' Philoso- 
phy of Mysterious Rappings : " — 

" Rev. Joseph Wilkins, an English dissenting minis- 
ter, relating the case of himself, says : ' Being one night 
asleep, I dreamed that I was travelling to London, and, 
as it would not be much out of my way, I would go by 
Gloucestershire, and call upon my friends.' Accord- 
ingly he seemed to have arrived at his father's house ; 
but, finding the front door closed, he went round to the 
back, and there entered. The family, however, being 
already in bed, he seemed to ascend the stairs and enter 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 309 

his father's bedchamber. He found him asleep ; but, 
to his mother, "who seemed awake, he said, as he walked 
round to her side of the bed, ' Mother, I am going a 
long journey, and am come to bid you good-by ; ' to 
which she answered, ' O, dear son, thou art dead ! ' 
This, understand, was but a dream, to which this gen- 
tleman at the time attached no importance. 

" He was, however, greatly surprised, when, soon after, 
he received a letter from his father, addressed to him- 
self, if alive, or, if not, to his surviving friends ; begging 
earnestly for immediate intelligence, since they believed 
him dead. For that on such a night (that on which 
their son had his dream) he, the father, being asleep, and 
Mrs. Wilkins, the mother, being awake, she had dis- 
tinctly heard somebody try the fore-door, which being 
fast, the person had gone round to the back, and there 
entered. She had perfectly recognized the footstep to 
be that of her son, who ascended the stairs, and, enter- 
ing the bedchamber, had said to her, ' Mother, I am 
going a long journey, and am come to wish you good- 
by.' Whereupon she had answered, ' O, dear son, 
thou art dead ! ' Much alarmed, she had awakened her 
husband, and related what had occurred, assuring him 
that it was not a dream, for that she had not been 
asleep at all. 

" Mr. Wilkins remarks that this singular circumstance 
took place in the year 1754, when he was living at 
Ottery ; and that he had frequently discussed the sub- 
ject with his mother, with whom the impression was 
even stronger than on himself. Neither death nor any 
tldng else remarkable ensued; and he had no idea of a 
journey." 

To us, the explanation of this fact, whose authentic- 
ity cannot properly be doubted, is quite easy and mani- 



310 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

fest. When two minds, or rather brains, happen to be 
in strong odylic rapport, the mental states of one are 
reproduced in the mind of the other. Distance of local- 
ity makes no difference whatever. In this case, the 
brains of the mother and son were in this relation, and 
hence the vision of the latter in a dream became an 
object of perception to the former when awake, just as 
the imaginings of the mesmerizer become perceptions in 
the mind of his subject. 

In the same manner the brains of two individuals, 
when both are asleep, and at a great distance from 
each other, may come into odylic rapport with each 
other, so that the mental apprehensions of one may 
thereby be reproduced in the mind of the other, and 
thus each have the same vision or dream at the same 
moment. We received, a few days since, from a gen- 
tleman whose testimony no one acquainted with him 
will doubt, a statement of an affecting fact of this kind 
which occurred in his own experience. When a youth, 
he had a pair of twin brothers whom he most tenderly 
loved. At length one of them died. His heart was 
then intensely entwined around the other, little Fredy, 
as he called him. At one time, when he was some 
fifteen or twenty miles from home, employed as a 
clerk in a store, he had in his sleep the following vision. 
He thought, that at night he approached the front door 
of his father's residence, and on attempting to open it, 
found it fastened. He then went round to the back 
door and entered into a large kitchen, in a remote 
corner of which was a recess where his parents were 
accustomed to sleep. The room, as he thought, was 
at the time lighted up by a small fire which was still 
burning. As he entered the room, his mother extended 
her arms towards him, and exclaimed, O William! 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 311 

As he came to her, and they were locked in each 
others' arms, she said to him, Fredy is dead! They 
then wept together, while the arms of each were en- 
circling the other, for a long time, till, from excess of 
grief, he awoke, and found his pillow drenched with 
tears. About one o'clock in the afternoon of that day, 
his cousin drove up to the door. As. they met, the 
young man exclaimed, I know what you have come 
for. Fredy is dead. Yes, was the reply. Fredy is 
dead, and I have come for you. After he had been 
home a little while, his father said to him, Your mother 
had a very singular dream last night. She thought 
that you came to the front door, and finding it fastened, 
you came round by the back door, and entered our 
room. As you entered, she extended her arms towards 
you, and exclaimed, O William! You came to her, 
and as each was encircled in the other's arms, she said 
to you, Fredy is dead, and thus embracing each other, 
you wept together for a long time. The same identical 
vision had, as nearly as it could be ascertained, at the 
same time, passed before the mind of the mother and the 
son, though they were separated at a distance of some 
fifteen or twenty miles from each other. People, if 
they choose, may call such events mere chance coinci- 
dences. We judge differently. We think that there 
must have been, at the moment, a medium of commu- 
nication between those two minds, the very one of 
which we are treating, a medium so relatively devel- 
oped between them, that the thoughts of the one were 
reproduced in the other. To us such facts which, in 
some instances, do characterize human experience, 
admit of no other explanation. 



312 MODERN MYSTERIES. 



ANALOGOUS FACTS OF COMMON OCCURRENCE IN EVERY-DAT 

LIFE. 

An invisible force which pervades all nature around 
us, and whose influence we are constantly experiencing, 
may not be recognized as present at all, excepting in 
its most powerful and startling occurrences. Of this, 
electricity may be alluded to as an example and illus- 
tration. Our physical system is no doubt continuously 
pervaded by electric currents, as is nature in its entire- 
ness all around us. Many events, also, a:ie continually 
occurring around us, indicative, to the careful observer, 
of its presence and action. Its presence, however, is not 
distinctly recognized, till we witness some of its more 
startling phenomena, as in the thunderstorm. The 
same holds true of the odylic force. All nature is in- 
stinct with its presence and influence, and we are con- 
tinuous spectators of its ordinary phenomena. From all 
the forces in nature, we think that it is distinguished by 
this one striking peculiarity. The direction of its activity, 
the proper conditions being fulfilled, is as mental states, 
and is determined by the same, and this, too, while, as an 
attractive and repulsive force, it acts with great power 
upon all other objects in nature. For ourselves, we 
believe, and we suggest this for the consideration of 
scientific men and of the public generally, — we believe, 
we say, that in the human organism, it is the medium 
of voluntary muscular action, as well as of sensation. 
There must be in that organism some such force, a 
force which, while its own action accords with mental 
states, and is determined by the same, controls, also, in 
consequence of its peculiar properties, the muscular 
system, and thus becomes the immediate cause of all 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 313 

voluntary motion in the physical organization. This 
we believe to be none other than the odylic force of 
which we have been treating. When it is not suffi- 
ciently, or when it is excessively developed in that sys- 
tem, we then have the various forms of cramp and 
convulsions, and also nervous developments. "When 
developed in certain relative degrees in the organisms of 
two or more individuals, then the mental states of one are 
reproduced in the minds of the others. Where people 
are much together, in the ordinary intercourse of life, 
as in families, it becomes spontaneously developed 
between them to such an extent, that they are often 
thinking each others' thoughts, or the thoughts of one 
are reproduced in the minds of the others. The father, 
for example, when sitting in the family circle, gives 
utterance to a certain thought. Nothing has been said 
before to lead to it, or to suggest it to any one. Yet the 
mother and others remark, " I was just thinking of that 
very thing myself." Such facts occur so frequently, 
and in such connections, as to preclude the supposition 
that such identity of thought, among so many persons, 
at such moments, is the result of mere accident. There 
must be some hitherto unrecognized medium of inter- 
communication, by which the thoughts of one mind are 
reproduced in others. The hypothesis before us gives 
us such a medium, and thus explains such phenomena. 
An individual with whom we were once familiar, has 
been separated from us for years, and for a long period 
has been totally out of our thoughts. He, at length, 
returns to our neighborhood, we knowing nothing of 
the fact. As he comes within a certain distance of us, 
he suddenly and inexplicably becomes to us an object 
of distinct thought and remembrance. When he comes 
into our presence, we inform him that we were just 

27 



314 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

before thinking about him, though he had not been in 
our minds before for years. Of more frequent occur- 
rence are such facts, in common experience, relative to 
individuals who have been separated but short periods 
from each other. The common recognition of such 
facts among all classes of community, has, as is well 
known, given rise to the old, and somewhat vulgar 
maxim, that "the devil is always near when we are 
speaking of him." The maxim reversed would, no 
doubt, be more true, to wit, we are speaking of him, 
when he is near, and for that reason. Facts which are 
so general, and so uniform in their character, in human 
experience, must, as we judge, have a common cause, 
and that cause must be something else than mere 
chance coincidence. We think that cause to be this. 
When individuals come into the vicinity of each other, 
the odylic relations between them not unfrequently 
happen to be such, that the thoughts of one are repro- 
duced, to a certain, but limited extent, of course, in the 
mind of the other, and thus the thoughts of one are 
turned to the other. Thus we have these common facts 
of human experience. A moment's reflection will con- 
vince the reader, that there is nothing incredible in such 
a supposition. The dog, for example, passes along 
where his master and many others had passed hours or 
days previous. The animal immediately distinguishes 
the track of his master from all the others, and thus 
traces him out. Such facts necessitate one of two 
conclusions. Either something passed from the organ- 
ism of the master to the objects upon which he trod, 
and remained there till, and no doubt after, the time 
referred to, or owing to peculiarities of physical state 
and constitution, a cause in that organism developed 
in the objects touched, a peculiar force not developed 



THE Mf^SION OP "THE SPIRITS." 315 

to so great an extent before, and this force passing 
from the organism to those objects, or by contact of 
the organism developed in those objects, was the cause 
of the peculiar effect upon the animal, an effect by 
which the latter was enabled to follow the track of the 
former, and trace him out. Of the truth of one or the 
other of these suppositions, there can be no doubt. 
Now if a mere momentary contact may produce effects 
from which such results arise, is it at all incredible, that 
from the organisms of individuals, when in a certain 
vicinity to each other, and when certain conditions are 
fulfilled, influences should go forth from one to the 
other, by which common sensations shall be induced in 
the minds in those organisms, sensations through which 
the same thoughts shall be induced, at the same mo- 
ment, in each mind alike? To us nothing is more 
reasonable than such a supposition, and nothing more 
accordant with the analogy of known facts in the 
world around us. 



PREMONITIONS OF FUTURE EVENTS. 

There are cases in which individuals have premoni- 
tions of coming events, premonitions which can hardly 
be regarded, with a show of reason, as accidental crea- 
tions of the imagination which, by mere accident, 
happen to be true. We need not specify cases. It is 
enough to say, that they have been matters of more or 
less frequent occurrence, in all ages of the world. A 
gentleman, for example, had a vision of the shipwreck 
of a vessel on the coast of Hindostan, a shipwreck in 
which his own son was lost. Months subsequent to 
the vision, the events foreshadowed, all occurred in 
exact accordance with the vision referred to. Yet the 



316 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

father was at the time in utter ignorance of the scenery 
where the event occurred, and of all the facts of the 
case. If our view of the nature and action of the odylic 
force be correct, the occurrence of such foreshadowings 
is no great mystery, but an event which is to be ex- 
pected as a matter of occasional experience in the his- 
tory of the race. When the brain happens to be in 
odylic rapport with the causes on which the occurrence 
of any particular event depends, the mind then has a 
vision of such events, however future, for the same 
reason that when in the same relations with distant 
objects it has a vision of the same. No person has as 
much reason to expect any such events, in his own ex- 
perience, as he has to expect to die from a stroke of 
lightning. Yet then occurrence in instances few and 
far between, in the experience of some individuals in a 
nation, should not be a matter of wonder nor disbelief. 
Such, we are free to say, is our view, after a careful 
examination of facts. 



SECTION IV. 

PHENOMENA OF GHOST SEEING AND HAUNTED HOUSES. 

Had the son, in the case above stated, died in con- 
nection with that dream, as it no doubt has happened 
in other instances of a similar nature, who would have 
doubted that the spirit of that individual had appeared 
to his mother ? Yet undeniably no ghost did appear in 
this instance. The fact, then, that the spirit of one per- 
son is thought to appear, to another individual, just at 
the time of the death of the former, or at any other 
period, is no certain indication at all that any spirit 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 317 

whatever is present as an object of vision. The vision 
may have been, and must, till we have positive proof to 
the contrary, be held to have been a mere mental hallu- 
cination occasioned by the fact, that the brain of the 
person dying happened, at the time, to come into odylic 
rapport with that of the subject of the vision. The fact, 
too, that persons have visions as of spirits, when no 
spirit can be supposed to be present, is also to be 
assumed as proof, that seeing 1 spirits is no evidence that 
spirits are present as objects of vision. One class of 
persons take certain medicines, others have certain forms 
of disease, and others spend a certain time in particular 
localities. In each case alike similar visions, as of 
spirits, occur. In the two former instances, no spirits 
are supposed to have been present, as objects of vision. 
Why should we suppose them present in the last? 
Nothing is more contrary to all the laws of scientific 
induction, than such a supposition. There is known to 
exist a force in nature, which, when developed to a cer- 
tain extent in the brain, induces visions as of spirits, 
ghosts, etc. All such visions, therefore, are to be at- 
tributed to the action of such cause, until facts occur 
necessitating a different supposition. We have then a 
clear and distinct explanation of the phenomena of 
ghost seeing, which have troubled the world so much 
in past ages, and are beginning to trouble it again in 
the present. Wherever and from whatever cause the 
odylic force is developed unduly in the human brain, 
just such visions are from time to time to be expected, 
and when they do occur, we are, from the effect, to infer 
the presence of the cause. The fact that persons speak 
to the apparition, and seem to receive answers, does not 
alter the case at all ; because just such facts do occur, 
when no spirits are present, and the action of the force 

27* 



318 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

which occasions the vision equally accounts for such 
facts also. 

What are haunted houses and places of a like char- 
acter, but localities in which this same force is so 
developed that persons of peculiar temperament remain- 
ing in them for certain periods, become so affected with 
it, that these forms of phenomena are induced, that is, 
visions as of spirits are occasioned? We have not yet 
read or heard of a haunted house all the facts connected 
with which may not be most fully and perfectly ac- 
counted for by a reference to this one cause. The 
spirits there seen, and the sounds and voices heard, are 
no more external to the minds and organisms of the 
percipients, than what the mother above referred to 
saw of and heard from her son was external to her 
mind and organism. 

There is one other view of this whole subject also, 
that should not be overlooked in this connection. It 
is not at all strange, but a matter to be expected, that 
phosphorescent, and other luminous vapors should, 
from time to time, arise from graveyards and old, 
forsaken, and dilapidated and decaying buildings, and 
that in and near some such places, individuals of pecu- 
liar physical constitutional temperament, should very 
quickly, in many instances, have the odylic force de- 
veloped in their organisms. A number of most efficient 
causes of ghost seeing here present themselves, causes 
sufficiently efficient to account for such perceptions, in 
the total absence of all corresponding objects, that is, 
real visible spirits. Any such luminous substances 
rising in the night time, in the form of columns, as 
they most naturally do, would of necessity, to the ter- 
rified imagination of the beholder, appear as a human 
body wrapped in a winding-sheet, the form in which 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 319 

ghosts almost, if not quite invariably appear. It is the 
opinion of some philosophers also, who have carefully 
investigated the subject, that the odylic force developed 
in such localities, sometimes, in ascending from the 
earth, spontaneously assumes a form somewhat like 
that of the human body, and in that form, becomes 
visible to individuals present, especially if the same 
force is developed in their organisms. Then the 
same force in such organisms often occasions visions 
as of such objects, when nothing is perceived ex- 
ternal to the organism itself. It is well known also, 
that this force, as developed in particular localities, is 
attended with the very noises, jarring of surrounding 
objects, and movement of heavy bodies which are wit- 
nessed in haunted houses. All these causes combined 
are abundantly sufficient to account for all the phe- 
nomena of ghost seeing and haunted houses with 
which the world has, from time to time, been troubled, 
without the supposition of spirit presence. All such 
phenomena differ fundamentally from the " angel visits " 
recorded in Scripture. The latter were intelligent mani- 
festations made to answer important ends. The former 
are unintelligent manifestations bearing the very char- 
acteristics they would bear were they just what we 
have represented them to be. As such, then, we regard 
them, having assigned causes abundantly adequate to 
account for their existence, as such phenomena. 

SECTION V. 

WITCHCRAFT, FORTUNE TELLING, MANNER IN WHICH 
MYSTERIOUS EVENTS ARE COMMONLY TREATED. 

There are two points of light in which the phenomena 
of witchcraft may be considered, namely, — the leading 
facts set forth by those who, in past ages, have believed 



320 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

in such theory, — and the conclusions which have been 
deduced from these facts. Hitherto, there has, for the 
most part, been supposed to be a necessary connection 
between the facts and the conclusion. Hence, those 
denying the latter, have generally ignored the former as 
mere illusions, and that without examination. Let us 
suppose, that each of these questions be considered by 
itself, without any reference to the other, and that we 
commence with a candid and careful examination of 
the evidence that exists of the reality of many of the 
leading facts adduced by Cotton Mather and his asso- 
ciates, for example, in regard to the subject. We ven- 
ture the opinion, that few facts of the past will be found 
to be sustained by higher and more valid evidence than 
these. Our fathers will be found to have erred, not in 
regard to the facts many of them, to say the least, 
but with respect to the conclusions which they deduced 
from those facts. It will also be found, that there was, 
in all respects, the same connection between their facts 
and conclusions, that there is between those of Spirit- 
ualism now. We have precisely the same evidence of 
the agency of devils in the phenomena of Salem witch- 
craft, that we have of that of the disembodied spirits of 
men, in the so called spirit phenomena. If our fathers 
erred in their conclusions, two millions of people, the 
number asserted by spiritualists to hold their theory in this 
country, at the present time, have shown themselves to 
be not more wise ; for the same identical phenomena, 
physical and mental, were presented to reveal and prove 
the presence and agency of devils in one instance, that 
are or can be. adduced to reveal and prove that of the 
disembodied spirits of men, in the other. Are physical 
objects now moved with and without physical contact, 
and that in accordance with intelligence? So they 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 321 

were then. Have we now various mediums through 
whom intelligent communications are obtained, as from 
the spirits of men ? Through various mediums, equally 
intelligent and mysterious revelations were given forth, 
as from devils then. The witch could do then all that 
the medium can do now. We are just as sacredly 
bound to admit the mere facts of Witchcraft as we are 
to admit those of Spiritualism, and have just as high 
and sacred reasons for rejecting the conclusions of the 
believers in each alike. 

One test which our fathers sometimes applied, in de- 
termining who were and who were not wis ches, will be 
found to be not so deserving of ridicule, as has been 
supposed. We refer to the custom of putting indi- 
viduals into sacks containing lead or stones, and then 
placing them upon water to see whether they would float, 
or sink to the bottom, the former class being held as real 
witches and the latter not. We learn that the body of 
Frederica Hauffe would float upon water like a cork, 
and that it was very difficult to get it beneath the sur- 
face. For the same reasons, the bodies of witches, that 
is, of those in whom the odylic force was to a certain 
extent developed, would thus float upon the surface of 
water. There, too, was an error, not in regard to facts, 
but in respect to conclusions to be deduced from such 
facts. Nor do we suppose, that there is any ground 
whatever for the assertion so commonly made, that 
those who, in such trials, sank to the bottom, were left 
to perish there. They were unquestionably rescued by 
the spectators, and all arrangements were made for that 
purpose. 

Nor, in our judgment, do our fathers deserve at all, 
the ridicule and censure heaped upon them by partial 
and prejudiced historians, for their so called persecu- 



322 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

tions of witches. What were the real facts of the case ? 
The witches, in the first place, professed to be in league 
with devils, and exercised their strange power as from 
them. Then they performed such mysterious, and ap- 
parently supernatural feats, that there appeared to the 
public no way of accounting for the facts, but by admit- 
ting the claims set forward by this class of persons. 
They became the sources of great depravity and cor- 
ruption, as well as objects of corresponding fear and 
terror in the community. Our fathers supposing, and 
most honestly too, that there was a necessary connec- 
tion between the facts which they knew and could not 
but know to be real, and the truth of the professions of 
the witches, under that knowledge and conviction pro- 
ceeded against persons making such professions, and 
executed upon them what was then believed to have 
been required in the word of God, in such cases. We 
believe, that there is not the least reason for sympathy 
with those who were making such professions, or that 
their sufferings were beyond their guilt. Those who pro- 
fess to be in league with devils, and perform, of choice, 
acts which can be accounted for according to existing 
light and knowledge, upon no other supposition but that 
such professions must be true, have no reason to com- 
plain, if they are treated according to their professions 
and acts. On the other hand, we are equally confident 
that our fathers, in what they did in the case, acted " in 
all good conscience before God" and man too, that they 
deserve of their posterity, pity for their mistakes, and 
commendation for their zeal, misdirected though it 
happened to have been. That the innocent, in some 
instances, suffered with the guilty, we have no doubt, 
and this should be and is a matter of deep and un- 
feigned regret. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 323 

If the theory which we have been endeavoring to 
establish be admitted, the phenomena of witchcraft 
wears no longer the veil of mystery. Connect with the 
so called spirit phenomena of our day, the idea of an 
origin from devils, let our mediums simply believe them- 
selves under a corresponding influence, and let that sen- 
timent be entertained by those who visit these circles, 
and we should have all the phenomena of Salem witch- 
craft over again, and that without change or modifica- 
tion. Spiritualism and witchcraft are the exclusive 
results of a common cause. The phenomena of each 
are to be explained upon precisely the same principles. 
The facts in both cases alike are real, and the conclu- 
sions equally false, the conclusions, we mean, that the 
facts are the result of an ab extra, and not of an exclu- 
sively mundane, cause. It would be interesting, did our 
space permit, to draw at length the parallel between the 
physical and intellectual manifestations attending these 
two movements, the one under the assumed control of 
devils, and the other under that of the departed spirits 
of human beings, and show how perfectly, with this one 
exception, they correspond with each other. This, how- 
ever, is not necessary. All that is now required is to 
designate the cause of such phenomena, and to show 
how they may all be explained in the light of such cause. 



BEWITCHING PERSONS AND OBJECTS. 

In all cases of witchcraft, the belief appears to have 
obtained, that the witch, or wizard, as the case might 
be, had the power to produce upon certain persons and 
objects, certain preternatural effects, on account of which 
such persons and objects were said to have been " be- 



324 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

witched." The following extracts from Mr. Rogers 
contain a sufficient number of cases to present an illus- 
tration of the nature of this power, cases cited by him 
from C. Mather, and the " Night Side of Nature." 

" Nicholas Desbaro, in Hartford, Conn., having un- 
justly detained a chest of clothes belonging to another 
man, the former became wonderfully tormented at his 
own house by various poundings and other phenomena, 
such as we have already noticed, as the unaccountable 
movement of various things about his house. ' And it 
endured for divers months,' says Rev. C. Mather ; ' but, 
upon the restoration of the clothes thus detained, the 
troubles ceased.' * 

" It is astonishing to notice the numerous well-au- 
thenticated cases of the same character to be found 
everywhere, — confined to no particular age or country, 
though occurring only in particular localities. We have 
the account of one of this kind having occurred in Ports- 
mouth, N. H., in 1683, at the house of George Walton. 
He, it seems, was suspected and charged by a woman 
with having unjustly ' detained some land from her ; ' 
after which, for quite a period, his house was strangely 
beset with unaccountable disturbances, all of them rep- 
resenting revengeful passion, in the destruction of prop- 
erty, and dismal noises. He also found the same thing 
to meet him not only at home, but even in particular 
localities away from home.f 

" Another singular case related is that of ' Mr. Philip 
Smith, aged about fifty years, a son of eminently virtu- 
ous parents, a deacon of the church in Hadley, Mass., a 
member of the General Court, a justice in the county 

* Mather's Magnalia, B. VI, p. 69. f Ibid. 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 325 

court, a selectman for the affairs of the town, a lieuten- 
ant of the troop, a man of devotion, sanctity, gravity, 
and, in all that is honest, exceeding exemplary. Such 
a man was, in the winter of the year 1684, murdered 
with an hideous witchcraft that filled all those parts of 
New England with astonishment. He was by his office 
concerned about relieving the indigence of a wretched 
woman in the town, who, being dissatisfied at some of 
his just cares about her, expressed herself to him in such 
a manner that he declared himself thenceforward appre- 
hensive of receiving mischief at her hands.' * 

" This expectation, on his part, of receiving mischiev- 
ous influences from this woman, was sufficient, if the 
local conditions of mundane force were favorable, to 
cause his disturbance by the cerebral action of the wo- 
man in reference to him or his house. 

" Accordingly we find, that soon after having fallen ill, 
with a derangement of the brain, he incessantly talked 
of the woman, and of her ghost in his room ; and his 
'gallipots of medicines' would be 'unaccountably emp- 
tied. Audible scratchings were made about the bed, 
when his hands and feet lay wholly still, and were held 
by others.' There was an appearance of lights some- 
times on the bed. The bed would be unaccountably 
shaken, as in other cases we have mentioned. Amid 
these strange occurrences the man died ; and ' divers 
noises were also heard in the room where the corpse lay, 
as the clattering of chairs and stools, whereof no account 
could be given. This was the end of so good a man. 
And I could,' continues Mather, 'with unquestionable 
evidence, relate the tragical death of several good men 
in this land, attended with such preternatural circum- 
stances.' " 

* Mather's Magnalia, B. VI. p. 70. 

28 



326 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

" Baron Dupotel relates the following,* which occurred 
at Rambouillet, in the month of November, 1846. 

" Some travelling merchants called early one morning 
at the door of a farm-house, belonging to a man named 
Bottel, and demanded food; which the maid-servant 
gave them, when they left. A while after, one of the 
party returned, and demanded more, which being refused, 
the man showed resentment, uttered threats, and turned 
away. The same night, at the supper table, the plates 
began to dance, and roll off the table. The girl, going 
to the door, and chancing to place herself just where Hie 
pedler stood, was seized with convulsions, and a whirl- 
ing motion. The carter, who was standing by, laughed 
at her, and out of bravado placed himself on the same 
spot, when he felt almost suffocated, and was so unable 
to command his movements that he was overturned 
into a large pool in front of the house. Upon this, they 
rushed to the curd of the parish for assistance ; but he 
had scarcely said a prayer or two, before he was attacked 
in the same manner, and his furniture beginning to os- 
cillate and crack as if it were bewitched, which exceed- 
ingly frightened the poor people. After a time the phe- 
nomena intermitted, and they hoped all was over ; but 
presently it began again, and this occurred more than 
once before it wholly subsided." 

The question which here arises is this : How was 
this strange power exerted by the witch ? "We are all 
aware, that when the magnetic force is developed in one 
rod of iron, this rod then has the power of developing 
the same force in other rods with which it is brought 
into certain relations. So with objects in which the 
odylic force is developed. They have the power, when 

* See Night Side of Nature, p. 384. 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 327 

brought into certain relations to other objects, to develop 
in them the same force. This is especially true of this 
force when developed in the human organism, more par- 
ticularly when the mind of the subject is intensely excited, 
and above all, when the whole attention and energy of 
the mind of such persons become concentrated upon 
some particular person or object. Thus the intense ex- 
citement of the travelling merchant, in whom this force 
was unquestionably very strongly developed, that in- 
tense excitement, we say, excited the action of this force 
in his organism to such a degree as to develop it also 
in the objects immediately beneath and around him. 
The organisms of other individuals, who came into the 
immediate vicinity of those objects, and especially into 
the place where he stood, became so charged with that 
force as to experience the terrible effects described. So 
with persons and objects upon which the attention of 
the witch, in a state of terrible excitement, became con- 
centrated. In them the same force thus became devel- 
oped, and consequently became the cause of the strange 
phenomena which followed. When the force was thus 
relatively developed between the witch and such person 
or object, she had the power to direct its action, in many 
important respects, at will. On this principle, the drum- 
mer of Tedworth could play upon his drum, though at 
a distance from it. So the witch could inflict many 
terrible injuries upon her victims, and thus became the 
terror of the community around. Under the mistaken 
apprehension that it was satanic power which such per- 
sons exercised, our fathers inflicted upon them retribu- 
tions not undeserved for their real crimes. 



328 MODERN MYSTERIES. 



FORTUNE-TELLING. 

The common supposition is, that fortune-tellers are 
deliberate impostors, who, while they are in a normal 
state, and know themselves to be thus, profess to 
be possessed of a supernatural foresight of future 
events. For the most part, we have no doubt that 
this is the case. We are fully convinced, however, 
that this practice or art, has its basis, in some instances, 
in an abnormal physical and mental condition of the 
professed seer, a condition induced by the odylic force, 
and in which the subject, the fortune-teller, sustains 
precisely the same relations to the individual present, 
that the mesmeric or clairvoyant subject does to the 
mesmerizer. After the accustomed ceremonies have 
been gone through with, the fortune-teller goes into a 
manifestly magnetic condition, in which he or she 
speaks, as if a new power and influence had obtained 
full control over him. Soon the secret thoughts of the 
inquirer are disclosed, and facts in his history utterly 
unknown, as he fully believes, to any being on earth 
but himself. In the midst of these, there are incoherent 
predictions of things future, predictions which, in but 
very few instances are realized in any form, but in some 
very distant and solitary cases very strikingly fulfilled. 
The power manifested in revealing things secret, in 
regard to the past, inspires the inquirer with confidence 
in regard to the predictions of things future. Here we 
have another instance, or form, in which the thoughts of 
one person are transferred to the mind of another 
through the action of odylic force. A friend of ours, 
for example, a lady, once as she was at a distant 
place from that of her own residence, visiting from 
house to house, called at the residence. of an individual 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 329 

of this class. She had never seen that person before, 
and was equally certain of being a total stranger to her. 
Finding that she was in the presence of such a person, 
our Mend determined to satisfy her curiosity by seeing 
for herself what such an individual can do. After the 
usual ceremony of shuffling cards, etc. were gone 
through with, the fortune-teller evidently, our friend 
being acquainted with such manifestations, went into a 
magnetic condition. Soon she stated, among other 
things, that she saw the husband of the stranger in 
a warehouse, apparently examining it, (he had gone on 
that errand at that very time,) that one of her children 
was affected with a peculiar form of disease, and 
described with perfect accuracy his motions when under 
its action, and then, among many other things, related 
facts in the past history of our friend, which she was 
perfectly certain no one on earth knew but herself. 
One prediction, very indefinitely stated, was uttered, 
which came to pass. " There," says the fortune-teller, 
after a while, " the influence has passed from me, I can 
say no more." Who does not see here the results of 
known mesmeric, or odylic relations between these 
individuals; relations in which the thoughts and re- 
membrances of one are transferred to the mind of the 
other ? A lady in Boston recently told us of a similar 
interview which she once had with a fortune-teller in 
that city, an individual probably now alive. Our in- 
formant, whose word will not be doubted by those 
knowing her, was born and educated in the State of 
Maine, where her parents now reside. To the fortune- 
teller she was a total stranger, and from the circum- 
stances of the case, she felt the most undoubted assur- 
ance, that her visit was totally unexpected, and that 
she was to the individual called upon, an unknown and 

28* 



330 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

total stranger. When the proper conditions were ful- 
filled, the leading incidents of this stranger's life, from 
her childhood up, the peculiarities of her character as a 
child, special facts in her past history, utterly unknown 
as she fully believes to any one on earth but herself, 
the peculiarities of the past and present residence 
of her parents, and of the scenery about the same, they 
having removed to another part of the State from that 
where her childhood and youth were spent, all these 
things were detailed with the most astonishing minute- 
ness and accuracy, and with a lifelike vividness, in the 
presence of which she seemed almost to live the past 
over again. 

Of the leading facts pertaining to a celebrated char- 
acter of this class, who lived in Paris during the early 
part of the present century, our readers are very prob- 
ably aware. The name of the individual has escaped 
us. This, however, was true of her, — all who visited 
her, from whatever parts of the kingdom or world they 
came, were astonished, (and her fame drew vast multi- 
tudes from all parts to consult her,) and not unfrequently 
confounded by the minute and specific revelations of 
their past history, which they would receive through 
that pythoness. In her case, there would be equally 
strange revelations in regard to the future, and other 
facts unknown to her visitants ; she, no doubt, while in 
a magnetic state, being a very powerful clairvoyant. 
Such facts accord with the history of many fortune- 
tellers, the world over. The manner in which their 
revelations, in regard to the past history of utter stran- 
gers resorting to them, are obtained and given forth, is 
quite obvious. In the magnetic or odylic state into 
which they are introduced by the various ceremonies 
performed, the remembrances of persons present in 



THE MISSION OP "THE SPIRITS." 331 

regard to their past history, are, through the action of 
this power, and by virtue of its nature and relations to 
mind, reproduced in the mind of fortune-tellers, and 
given forth by them, on the same principles that A. J. 
Davis uttered the present thoughts of the lady in mag- 
netic communication with him. Equally manifest is the 
manner in which revelations pertaining to the future 
commonly are obtained and given forth, through such 
individuals. The visitant has in his mind, visions and 
plans in regard to the future. Social, and espec- 
ially domestic connections may be formed, desired or 
intended with specific individuals, or with imaginary 
personages imaged forth in the mind in conformity 
with the heart's beau ideal. In the presence of the 
fortune-teller, and in anticipation of such revelations, 
these plans and persons, real or imaginary, are of 
course suggested to the inquirer. Through his or her 
mind, they are reproduced in that of the pythoness, and 
by her given forth as revelations communicated by 
higher powers to her mind. It is thus, no doubt, that 
the image of the person with whom conjugal relations 
are afterwards consummated, are sometimes presented 
as prophetic enunciations to the inquirer, and by him 
or her ever after regarded as proof of a real prophetic 
foresight in the fortune-teller. 



MANNER IN WHICH MYSTERIOUS EVENTS ARE COMMONLY 
TREATED. 

Whenever mysterious events appear, and when in- 
ferences unfriendly to truth are drawn from them, the 
friends of truth are too apt, instead of acquainting 
themselves with the facts of the case, and thus becom- 
ing enabled to speak intelligently upon the subject, to 
deny the facts altogether, and that without examina- 



332 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

tion, and at the same time, to treat the whole subject 
with silent contempt, as wholly unworthy of their 
notice. To our minds, no course of procedure can be 
more unwise than this, especially among the teachers 
of our holy religion. They certainly should be able to 
speak intelligently upon all subjects which, in the pub- 
lic mind around them, bear upon the cause of truth and 
righteousness. Ignorance, in such cases, renders the 
religious teacher an object of contempt, on the part of 
the opposers of the truth. It utterly annihilates also 
his power to benefit all who believe the facts ignored. 

Nor does the evil stop here. The opposer of truth 
finds an excuse for ignoring altogether the great ques- 
tion of the divine origin of Christianity, and without 
examination denying its facts, and finds this excuse in 
the manner in which his facts and arguments are 
treated. We cannot ask men, with any rational hope 
of being heard, to listen with candor and wakeful 
interest to our facts and arguments, unless we listen, 
with the same candor and interest, to theirs. 

By the same course also, the friends of truth are some- 
times found treating with contempt great facts, and the 
most legitimate deductions from the same, as in the 
case of geology and other kindred sciences, when they 
first unlocked their priceless treasures to the world. 
The friends of truth must ever regard themselves as 
bound to admit facts, however mysterious, when their 
reality is affirmed by valid evidence. On no other con- 
dition can they fully exemplify the love of universal 
truth required by the gospel which they profess, or 
require men to admit the facts which lie at the basis of 
the claims of Christianity to a divine original. 



THE? MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 333 



SECTION VI. 

THESE SO CALLED SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS AND SCRIPTURE 
MIRACLES. BEARING OP OUR PREVIOUS DISCUSSIONS UPON 
THE DOCTRINE OF A GENERAL AND PARTICULAR PROVI- 
DENCE. CONCLUSION. 

Spiritualists everywhere claim, that these so called 
spirit manifestations are attended with facts which have 
the same marks of being miracles, that the great facts 
recorded in the Bible do. Indeed, it is now put forth, 
unblushingly, that this movement is attended with the 
same kind of supernatural events that Christianity was, 
events, too, resulting from the very same cause ; and that 
no one can repudiate the claims of Spiritualism, with- 
out being bound, in consistency, to repudiate those of 
Christianity. It is of no little importance, then, that 
we clearly distinguish these manifestations from real 
miracles, those recorded in the Bible especially. 

What then is a real miracle, and what especially are 
the characteristics of the affirmed miracles recorded in 
the Bible ? A real miracle, we reply, is an event wholly 
unlike and unanalogous, in its essential characteristics, to 
any event resulting 1 from mere mundane causes. A mir- 
acle that can properly be used as a divine attestation 
of the truth of any proposition or doctrine, must be an 
event of such a character, that its occurrence can be ac- 
counted for, but by a reference to a direct and imme- 
diate interposition of creative power, and must sustain 
such relations to that proposition or doctrine, that the 
reality of the event cannot be admitted without admit- 
ting such proposition or doctrine as a divinely attested 
truth. Now we affirm the above to be the precise char- 
acter of the so called miraculous events recorded in the 



334 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

Scriptures. Such also is the relation of those events to 
the Scriptures, that the reality of the former cannot be 
admitted, without admitting the divine origin of the 
latter. All this is undeniable, as we shall show, in Part 
III. of this treatise. 

"What, on the other hand, is the character of these 
manifestations ? There is not one among them, as we 
have seen, whose existence and entire characteristics 
may not be accounted for, by a reference to purely mun- 
dane causes, and which is not perfectly similar and 
analogous in all its elements and features, to events 
which do result from such causes. All these manifesta- 
tions, in the next instance, may be admitted, and with 
the most absolute logical consistency, the claims of 
Spiritualism to an ab extra spirit origin denied. 

We will contrast a few miraculous phenomena 
revealed in the Bible, with some claimed to be of a 
similar character connected with Spiritualism. We 
will begin with the leading miracles. It is well known 
that there are certain peculiar forms of disease which 
can sometimes almost instantly, and at others in very 
short periods, be cured by the imagination, or certain 
medicines. There are others which cannot be affected 
by such causes. Of the former class exclusively are the 
healing phenomena of Spiritualism. The latter class 
are among the most prominent miracles revealed in the 
Bible. The healing medium, by his passes, may, through 
the imagination of the subject, or through the medicinal 
influence of the odylic force thus excited in the patient, 
effect certain forms of cure. Over other diseases he 
has no power for good. Then he may make as many 
passes as he pleases over a corpse, and he can never re- 
animate it with a living soul. He can make no approach 
whatever towards restoring to a maimed person his 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 335 

lost limb. Yet these last are among the most prominent 
of " the mighty works " performed by Christ and the 
sacred writers. The healing power of the medium has 
no efficiency excepting in the case of a few diseases. 
That exercised by Jesus Christ had an equal and abso- 
lute efficacy in respect to all diseases of every kind. In 
connection with this fact, he did what the medium can 
make no approach whatever towards doing, that is, 
restoring lost limbs to the maimed, and raising the dead 
to life. The power, then, which originated the Scripture 
miracles, supposing them to have occurred, differs not 
in degree, but in kind from that claimed in behalf of 
Spiritualism. 

The same remarks are equally applicable to the spirit 
of prophecy. Suppose that we have two classes of 
predictions, each one hundred in number, and relating 
to events which lie equally beyond the reach of mere 
human foresight. Of one class but one in the whole 
hundred is fulfilled in any form. Of the other, not one 
in the hundred fails in any particular. What higher 
evidence can we have, that the intelligence which origi- 
nated the latter class differs, not in degree, bat in kind, 
from that which originated the former? the one being 
possessed of the most infallible, and the other of the 
most erring foresight. Such, precisely, is the character 
of the predictions recorded in the Bible, and those put 
forward by spiritualists to sustain the claims of their 
system. The latter class bears all conceivable marks 
of a mere human, and the former of a divine origin, the 
one indicating an origin from intelligence omniscient 
and absolutely infallible, and the other from one most 
limited and fallible. In all respects the miracles of 
Scripture stand in absolute contrast to the so called 
mysteries set forth by the advocates of Spiritualism. 



336 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

The advocates of Spiritualism claim, that the miracles 
performed by mediums should rank, we repeat, with 
those recorded in the Bible. To bring the subject to a 
still further test, let this class of persons advance to one 
of our granite mountains, and after making their passes 
over the surface of the flinty rocks, see if that moun- 
tain, at their bidding, will open its sides and send forth 
floods of water sufficient to quench the thirst of three 
millions of people, together with their countless flocks 
and herds. Let these same individuals then approach 
the Ohio or Hudson river, and making their passes over 
the same, see if at their bidding the waters thereof will 
divide and stand in heaps on either side, while the people 
pass over dry shod, and subsequently roll on as before. 
And finally, let them turn to the sun in the heavens, 
and see if on making their passes over his face, he will 
stand still for a season, or go " ten degrees " backward. 
When mediums can perform wonders even analogous 
to these, then, and only then, their mighty works may 
claim a rank among those recorded in the Bible. In 
the midst of these great events, there are some of course, 
which might or might not be the immediate result of 
creative power. These standing by themselves could 
not be claimed as miracles, and could never, if they did 
stand thus alone, be appealed to as proof of the 
divine origin of Christianity. It is this last class exclu- 
sively, forms of healing, for example, which may result 
from miraculous interpositions on the one hand, or from 
mundane causes on the other, that Spiritualism copies 
or can copy. 

Let us apply to these two classes of facts the prin- 
ciple of science to which we referred in a former part 
of this treatise, to wit, that when a given class of facts 
exist, and we know that a part of them is produced 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 337 

exclusively by one given cause, and that this cause is 
in itself adequate to the production of the whole, and 
therefore,. to account for their occurrence, we are bound 
to refer them, in their entireness, to that one cause. 
Of the miraculous events recorded in the Bible, we 
know absolutely, that none of these great central facts 
can have been the result of any cause but the direct 
and immediate interposition of creative power, and that 
this cause is perfectly adequate to account for all the 
rest. Admitting those facts to have occurred, we are 
required, therefore, by the universal and immutable 
principles of science to ascribe the whole together to 
this one exclusive cause. Of the facts of Spiritualism, 
on the other hand, we know with equal absoluteness, 
that a part of them are the exclusive result of purely 
mundane causes, that these causes are perfectly ade- 
quate to account for all the rest. By the same prin- 
ciples of science, therefore, we are bound to attribute 
all these facts to these causes. Thus it is, that the facts 
of Spiritualism can be compared to Bible miracles, only 
on the principle of contrast. This is the only relation 
that these two classes of facts do or can sustain to each 
other. 



BEARINGS OF OUR PREVIOUS INVESTIGATIONS UPON THE 
DOCTRINE OF A GENERAL AND PARTICULAR PROVIDENCE. 

The idea very extensively, and almost, if not quite 
universally obtains, at the present time, that all effects 
in the external universe around us, miracles excepted, 
occur in perfect accordance with the action of fixed 
and immutable material laws ; that at the creation every 
particle of matter had its particular position assigned it 
relatively to every other ; that all subsequent effects in 
the material universe, are the necessary and necessi- 

29 



338 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

tated results of the mutual action and reaction of all 
such particles, in accordance with the immutable laws 
of attraction and repulsion, of chemical affinities and 
of the vital forces ; and that consequently, each material 
event is a link in a chain of necessary causes and 
effects, and can, by no possibility, excepting through 
a miraculous interposition of creative power, be other- 
wise than it is. Suppose, that with that view distinctly 
in mind, we are about to kneel in prayer, and that the 
object of the prayer is to secure the occurrence of some 
particular event in nature, rain in time of drought, 
or the restoration of a sick friend to health, for ex- 
ample. What effect is this view of the facts of the 
universe likely to have in exciting or suppressing a 
spirit of prayer for the objects named? Is it a view 
adapted to excite in us the belief that prayer " avails 
much " for the attainment of such objects, and conse- 
quently to excite in us sentiments pf hope and the ex- 
ercise of earnest, fervent, and humble but confiding and 
persevering importunity ? According to the view be- 
fore us, the sick man has a certain amount and form 
of disease, from which he can recover but through a 
certain process, a process which cannot be shortened or 
protracted by our mental states. The drought, too, is 
the necessary result of the combined action of the entire 
particles of matter constituting the material universe, 
and must continue till removed by such action, action 
which can but move on in the line of necessary causa- 
tion. Prayer, however fervent, can have no avail what- 
ever, to secure the result referred to, unless it avails to 
secure a miraculous interposition of creative power, an 
event which, no one anticipates. In the presence of 
such a view of the operations of the material universe, 
the mind can no more have faith in the availing efficacy 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 339 

of prayer to secure such results, than it can believe, that 
the same thing can, at the same time, exist and not 
exist. This view also, almost of necessity, will extend 
itself in our minds, from the material over the move- 
ments of the moral and spiritual universe. While we 
regard the one as controlled, in all its movements, by 
fixed and immutable laws of cause and effect, laws the 
results of which prayer can have no avail to change, 
we shall hardly fail to regard the moral and spiritual 
universe, as governed by similar laws, laws whose 
results are equally beyond the availing efficacy of 
prayer. Prayer, in the presence of such a view of the 
material, moral, and spiritual universe, may remain as 
a mere form, and in no other state can it well remain. 
It will not avail to change these results to inform us, 
that God foreseeing, at the beginning, the prayers of his 
people, arranged the current of events so that they 
should accord, in important particulars, with prayer. 
From the nature of the case, such an arrangement 
could reach such contingent events but in a very gen- 
eral and limited manner. It is, in itself also, a view of 
providence in no way adapted to call forth " effectual 
and fervent prayer " for specific results, the form which 
prayer generally ought to assume. The actual results 
of this view of providence are precisely accordant with 
the above presentation. Prayer made for any such 
results as we are speaking of, is, and no one will deny 
the fact, little more than a form, and as a form even, it 
exists to a very limited extent. The spirituality of the 
church is, in our solemn judgment, being " spoiled 
through philosophy." 

If we turn from this cold and cheerless view of provi- 
dence to the Scriptures, we find not only a want of cor- 
respondence, but a total and irreconcilable opposition 



340 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

between it and their most positive teachings, on this 
subject. According to such teachings, God is ever with 
us, as " a very present help in trouble," perplexity, and 
want, able and ready to respond, by specific providences, 
to our individual and specific necessities, and filial 
requests, and that equally in regard to the demands of 
our physical and spiritual natures. All alike stand re- 
vealed, as equally appropriate objects of prayer, objects 
in respect to which special and specific answers are 
alike and equally to be anticipated. There can be no 
doubt on this subject. 

If we retire from the Bible and the philosophy of prov- 
idence under consideration, into the depths of our own 
moral and spiritual being, we shall find every principle 
and demand of that nature in fixed and immutable cor- 
relation to the former, and in opposition to the latter view 
of providence. We wander through nature in a state of 
cheerless orphanage, till God is present to us, in all the 
movements of providence, in the very parental and 
special relations revealed in the Scriptures. Now we 
take the ground that the real providence of God, in the 
movements of the material creation, accord with the 
teachings of the higher philosophy revealed through 
the Scriptures and the moral and spiritual nature of 
humanity, and not with the teachings of the material 
philosophy before us, a philosophy which, as we shall 
see, has taken into the account but a part of the 
material forces of nature, and therefore fundamen- 
tally errs in its teachings pertaining to the proce- 
dures and laws of divine providence in the material 
universe. 

As preparatory to the elucidation of the subject 
before us, let us, for a moment, contemplate the physical 
organism of man. In and connected with this organ- 



THE MISSION OF " THE SPIRITS." 341 

ism, two distinct, and, in some respects, opposite classes 
of purely physical forces, are continuously operating. 
There are the vital and chemical forces sustaining the 
organism itself, and producing all the phenomena of 
circulation and nutrition, and the attractive and repul- 
sive forces, including all the particles thereof, and hold- 
ing the organism itself, like any other ponderous body, 
in connection with external nature. Then in the same 
organism, there is, as we have seen, another force 
which, in accordance with mental states, acts upon 
the muscular system, and becomes thereby the medium 
of voluntary motion, and may, consequently, not inap- 
propriately be denominated the will-force. 

Now this will-force, (the odylic force, as we have 
seen,) not only pervades the human organism, but all 
nature, too, and through it, as we have also seen, 
when the proper conditions are fulfilled, the most aston- 
ishing effects may be voluntarily and intentionally pro- 
duced upon surrounding objects. We will, for exam- 
ple, that the hands of individuals in magnetic commu- 
nication with us, shall be immovably fastened to the 
table or other objects, or that their fingers shall remain 
interlocked, so that they cannot draw them asunder, 
and these results, all the possible efforts of those indi- 
viduals to the contrary notwithstanding, — these results, 
we say, follow in accordance with our wills. Either 
these events were the result of direct miraculous inter- 
positions, or there is in all nature around us, the very 
force of which we are speaking, a force through which 
such voluntary results may be produced, the facts 
themselves, the reality of which cannot be denied, 
admitting of no other explanation. It is a first and 
universal principle of science, that the government of 
God over the material universe, (that being the only 

29* 



342 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

department of creation of which we are now speaking,) 
shall accord with the nature of all the forces actually- 
existing therein. If there are — and none doubt the 
fact of their existence — forces in nature which act in 
fixed and immutable accordance with the laws of 
attraction, repulsion, chemical affinity, etc., then we 
should expect to find a class of events, like the move- 
ments of the heavenly bodies, for example, events 
which move on in changeless antecedence and conse- 
quence, and which prayer can never avail to alter. If, 
on the other hand, there is in nature another and 
different force, a will-force of immense power, and 
influence over all other material objects, a force whose 
action is controlled by mental states and directed by 
the same, then the immutable laws of science would 
require us to suppose, that another class of effects are 
continuously occurring around us, effects which are the 
results of successive and immediate acts of divine 
volition through this very force, — effects immediately 
produced as existing and special exigencies require, and 
which are no more to be regarded as miracles than the 
other class referred to. As thus acting in and con- 
trolling nature, God would ever be present to us, as 
accessible by prayer, and as the immediate and special 
" rewarder of them that diligently seek him." Healing 
mercies, rain in times of drought, sunshine in long-con- 
tinued storms, and " present helps in all times of trouble," 
might be expected in answer to special prayer, and 
this without the mind being chilled and repelled from 
a throne of grace by the idea of an immutable con- 
catenation of causes and effects throughout nature, a 
concatenation which nothing but miracles can avail to 
break or to alter, miracles which no one believes prayer 
would avail to secure in our behalf. To this one view 



THE MISSION OF "THE SPIRITS." 343 

of providence, a view in accordance with which special 
prayer for specific blessings may receive specific an- 
swers through events which would not otherwise have 
occurred at all, and this without miracles, and in full 
and perfect accordance with God's ordinary method of 
controlling events in the world around us, — to this one 
view of providence, we say, a view which also accords 
with the entire teachings of inspiration on the subject, 
and the immutable demands of our moral and spiritual 
nature, philosophy itself, we believe, is now advancing, 
and the faith of the church will erelong not be " spoiled 
through philosophy," but confirmed by its teachings. 
The proposition that God governs the universe, " not by 
special, but by general laws," we utterly disbelieve, 
when presented as the exclusive view of providence. 
We equally repudiate the universal proposition that he 
governs the universe not by general, but by special 
laws. We think that in the order of providence, both 
principles are harmoniously blended. Events falling 
exclusively under the first class of laws are not objects 
of prayer, and are never so presented in the Scriptures. 
Those, on the other hand, falling under the second 
class, are such objects — events the current of which 
God, without miracles, may, in the exercise of his 
sovereign wisdom and love, continuously vary in 
adaptation to the continuously varying necessities and 
filial requests of his creatures, just as the acts of the 
earthly parent vary to meet the ever-changing wants 
and affectionate petitions of his children. This view of 
Providence, which certainly accords with the teachings 
of inspiration, and the demands of our moral and 
spiritual natures, will yet, we think, stand revealed as 
the only one which philosophy itself permits. 



344 MODERN MYSTERIES. 



CONCLUSION. 

Such is Spiritualism. We have examined its high 
claims, and found them empty and vain. We have 
handled the spirits and found them absolute insub- 
stantialities. We have scrutinized the facts set forth 
as the basis of the system, and found them wholly mun- 
dane in their character, and presenting no evidence 
whatever of a super-mundane origin. Our aim, in all 
our investigations has been a far higher one than the 
mere overthrow of a dangerous and insinuating system 
of delusion and error, namely, in the first instance, to 
lay the foundation for a full and satisfactory explanation 
of certain mysterious facts in nature and the experience 
of humanity, facts which have been in all ages very 
fruitful sources of superstition, religious delusion, and 
unbelief, and in the next place, to prepare, as far as may 
be done, in such a connection, for a ' better understand- 
ing of the ways of Providence on the one hand, and of 
the real claims on the other, of that divine revelation 
which constitutes the last and only hope of fallen 
humanity. Our reasonings and deductions thus far 
will speak for themselves, and we leave them to the 
candid judgment of the reader, earnestly bespeaking a 
careful examination of the subject next in order. 



PART III. 



EVIDENCE THAT THE SCRIPTURES ARE GIVEN BY INSPIRATION 
OF THE SPIRIT OF GOD, AS CONTRASTED WITH THE EVI- 
DENCE, THAT THE SPIRIT MANIFESTATIONS ARE FROM THE 
SPIRITS OF MEN. 



CHAPTER I. 

ARGUMENT FROM EXTERNAL MIRACLES. 

The term miracle we have already defined. It rep- 
resents exclusively a class of events fundamentally 
dissimilar and un analogous, in all their essential charac- 
teristics, to any effects resulting from the action of any 
purely mundane cause or causes, a class of events whose 
existence and characteristics can be accounted for, but 
by a reference to the direct and immediate interposition 
of creative power, as their exclusive cause. To our 
mind, it is self-evident, that nothing but miracles, that 
is, effects which can result from the action of no finite 
causes, can properly be appealed to, as evidence of the 
divine origin of Christianity, or of any other religion. 
If we look at the record itself, its prophetic enuncia- 
tions, or its system of moral precepts or doctrines, or to 
the great facts that stand around it, external miracles, 
we must find that which could not have originated with 
man, or from any finite cause or causes, before we find 

' (345) 



346 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

" the footprints of the Creator," " footprints " which can 
properly be adduced as evidence that " all Scripture is 
given by inspiration of God." Our conviction is, that 
the divine origin of Christianity is absolutely affirmed by 
the three classes of miracles above indicated, namely, 
external events, — prophetic enunciations, — and Chris- 
tianity itself considered as an effect for which an ade- 
quate cause must be assigned. To each of these 
departments of evidence a separate chapter will be as- 
signed, with the titles, — argument from external mir- 
acles, — argument from prophecy, — and argument from 
internal evidence. The argument from the class first 
named will be elucidated in the present chapter. 

Every reader will agree with us in the assumption, 
that " the incorruptible God " has never performed, and 
never will perform a miracle, in attestation of the real- 
ity of that which is unreal or untrue. A religion really 
and truly attested by divine miracles must, therefore, be 
admitted as true. Without further introduction we will 
advance directly to a consideration of the great facts set 
forth in the Scriptures, in attestation of the divine origin 
of Christianity. In discussing this subject, two impor- 
tant questions will occupy attention, — the nature and 
bearing of the facts referred to, supposing them to have 
occurred, — and the evidence which exists of their actual 
occurrence. 

SECTION I. 

NATURE AND BEARING OF SCRIPTURE FACTS CLAIMED AS 
MIRACLES, SUPPOSING THEM TO HAVE OCCURRED. 

In discussing any important subject, the question 
which first of all arises pertains to the nature and bear- 
ing of the facts which lie at the basis of all our conclu- 



THE BIBLE. MIRACLES. 347 

sions. If we admit their actual occurrence, do they, or 
do they not, sustain the conclusions deduced from them 
by those who set the facts before us ? Are they of such 
a nature, that the question of their occurrence or non- 
occurrence can be determined by testimony, etc. ? Of 
this character are the questions which arise under the 
present section, in which we are to discuss the nature 
and bearings of the great facts which are asserted by its 
advocates, to stand around Christianity, and affirm its 
divine origin. The Christian argument may be thus 
expressed. No religion attested as true, by divine mir- 
acles, can be false. Christianity, and it alone of all 
religions on earth, is thus attested. It therefore must 
be of divine origin. In regard to this argument, we 
now invite special attention to the following considera- 
tions : — 

1. If we admit the reality of the facts under consider- 
ation, we must also admit, in all its length and breadth, 
the conclusion before us, the divine origin and claims 
of Christianity. The reason is obvious. These great 
facts must be regarded as real divine miracles, and 
nothing else. They have none of the characteristics of 
any effects which owe their origin to any exclusively 
mundane cause or causes. On the other hand, they 
have all conceivable characteristics of real, miraculous 
interpositions of creative power. If we suppose them 
actually to have occurred, as related in the sacred vol- 
ume, no one will or can doubt the divine origin of 
Christianity. These facts stand out solitary and alone 
in their own exclusive grandeur and sublimity, as being, 
in all their fundamental elements and characteristics, 
totally dissimilar and unanalogous to any effects result- 
ing from any known or unknown natural causes in the 
universe around us. They not only lift their summits in- 



348 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

finitely above all such effects, but stand in the relation 
to them of total dissimilarity and opposition. As we 
walk up and down in their midst, we perceive, in all 
their essential characteristics, nought but the sublime 
footprints of creative power, as their exclusive origin 
and cause. We may refer, in illustration, to the great 
events narrated by Moses and the prophets, such as the 
plagues of Egypt, the passage of the Red Sea, and of 
Jordan when overflowing all its banks, the giving of the 
" fiery law " at Sinai, the feeding of three millions of hu- 
man beings for forty years, by bread from heaven in the 
wilderness, the opening, on two different occasions, of 
the flinty rock, when simply smitten, in the name of the 
Lord, by the shepherd's crook, and the issuing from 
those fissures of floods of water sufficient to meet the 
wants of all those famishing millions, together with 
their countless flocks and herds ; the standing still of the 
sun and moon, at the bidding of Joshua ; the preserva- 
tion of Daniel in the den of lions, and of his three asso- 
ciates in the furnace of Nebuchadnezzar ; together with 
" the mighty works " affirmed to have been performed 
by Jesus Christ. No one will pretend that these are the 
effects of any finite causes in the world around us. No 
one will pretend to adduce similar or analogous effects 
as resulting from such causes. No one will deny that 
such events, if they did occur, were real miracles, and 
owe their origin to no other cause than the direct and 
immediate interposition of creative power. Nor will 
any one deny, that these great events sustain such rela- 
tions to Christianity, that if admitted to be real, they 
present absolute proof of its divine origin and authority. 
"We can, by no possibility, separate the facts from the 
conclusion deduced from them, and we are necessitated 
to deny their occurrence, or admit that conclusion. 



THE BIBLE. MIRACLES. 349 

2. The second remark to which we would invite very- 
special attention is this : Such is the nature and char- 
acter of these great facts, that those who were present at 
the time when they are affirmed to have taken place, 
could, by no possibility, have been deceived in regard to 
the fact of their occurrence or non-occurrence. The truth 
of this proposition in undeniable. Facts of a certain 
character may, in some instances, appear to be to us 
what they are not. In other cases, this is impossible, 
and this is the exclusive character of the great events 
under consideration. Three millions of people, for 
example, cannot honestly have supposed themselves to 
have passed through the Red Sea, as related by Moses, 
unless they actually had done it. The same number of 
persons could not have really and truly believed them- 
selves to have passed the river Jordan dry-shod, when 
it was overflowing all its banks, and when the waters 
stood in heaps on each side of them, unless this event 
actually occurred in their history. Similar remarks are 
equally applicable to the other great events referred to, 
and especially to " the mighty works " ascribed to Jesus 
Christ. Whatever may be true of certain other events, 
no persons of common intelligence, whether civilized or 
savage, can be present when such events as these are 
affirmed to occur, and be honestly mistaken in regard to 
the fact of their occurrence. Hence we remark, — 

3. That all who affirmed themselves to have actually 
witnessed the occurrence of these events, were deceivers, 
liars, and hypocrites of the grossest character, that ever 
appeared on earth, unless these great facts actually did 
occur. We cannot possibly avoid this conclusion, or 
affirm that the language expressing it is too strong. 
The alternative is forced upon us, and we cannot escape 
it, to admit the occurrence of the facts under considera- 

30-' 



350 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

tion, and with that admission, affirm the divine origin 
of Christianity, or to brand every individual, whoever he 
may be, who affirms himself to have witnessed the 
actual occurrence of any of these great events, as a 
most gross and perjured deceiver. 

SECTION II. 

PROOF OF THE ACTUAL OCCURRENCE OF THESE EVENTS. 

This brings us to the second department of our sub- 
ject — the evidence of the actual occurrence of the 
great facts which, as divinely attested witnesses, affirm 
the divine origin of Christianity. The proposition 
which we here lay down, and shall proceed to establish, 
is this : The evidence in favor of the actual occurrence 
of these events is exclusively of that land which never 
does and never can deceive, which never does, and never 
can stand around a non-reality, and affirm its actual 
existence or occurrence. The truth of this proposition 
we argue from the following most decisive considera- 
tions : — 

1. There is an antecedent probability of the highest 
kind, in favor of the actual occurrence of these, or facts 
of a similar character, during the past history of our 
race. 

Any events have the highest antecedent probability 
in favor of their occurrence, which perfectly accord, in 
their essential characteristics, and in the circumstances 
of their affirmed occurrence, with the known character 
of God, and his immutable relations to humanity, and 
with the great facts and analogy of his previous acts of 
providence and creative power, as developed by the 
teachings and demonstrations of science. "What are the 
teachings and demonstrations of science bearing upon 



THE BIBLE. MIRACLES. 351 

this great question? They are these, — -'that all the 
great facts of creation, from its commencement to its 
final consummation, owe their origin exclusively, not 
to the action of natural laws, but to the direct and im- 
mediate, or miraculous interpositions of creative power. 
To such interpositions, every leading race of animals 
and vegetables owes its existence. In respect to the 
vegetable kingdom, no power or law exists in nature to 
originate a seed, but through a plant ; or a plant, but 
through a seed of the same or similar genus. How can 
the oak be produced, for example, but through the 
acorn, or the acorn, but through the oak ? Throughout 
the wide domain of the animal kingdom, also, a law 
equally universal and absolute obtains, namely, that by 
no natural law can an animal be produced, but through 
the prior union of two individuals of the same or simi- 
lar genus. These are the immutable laws of nature, or 
nature knows no laws. Yet science has demonstrated 
with equal absoluteness the fact, that the time was, 
when no animals or plants of any kind, nor any em- 
bryos from which such creations now originate, had an 
existence on earth. To what then did the first plant, 
that stands at the head of each species in the vegetable, 
and the first pair that stands at the head of each race 
in the animal kingdom, owe its origin? To a miracu- 
lous interposition of creative power, and to nothing 
else. The following statement of Professor Agassiz 
presents us the results of all the facts and demonstra- 
tions of science bearing upon this subject, and that in 
accordance with the united conviction and testimony 
of scientific men throughout the wide world, a convic- 
tion the validity of which is undeniably affirmed by all 
the facts and deductions of geology, and denied by none 
of them. 



352 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

" It is necessary," says the Professor, " that we recur 
to a cause more exalted, and recognize influences more 
powerful, exercising over all nature an action more 
direct, if we would not move eternally in a vicious circle. 
For myself, I have the conviction that species have been 
created successively at distinct intervals, and that the 
changes which they have undergone during a geologi- 
cal epoch are. very secondary, relating only to their 
fecundity, and to migration dependent on epochal in- 
fluences." 

Humanity, then, and all other orders of organized 
existences owe their origin to miraculous interpositions 
of creative power. No fact in nature is or can be more 
evident than this. Now, if God created man by a mir- 
acle, a fact which we must admit or deny the absolute 
demonstrations of science in regard to all the great facts 
of creation, is it not most reasonable to suppose, that 
he would interpose by miracles, should it be necessary 
for the highest interests of humanity, and especially to 
prevent its remediless ruin ? And these are the very rea- 
sons for which the great facts recorded in the Bible are 
affirmed to have occurred, thatis,to open to fallen human- 
ity the vista of immortality, to recover man from the ruins 
of sin, and restore to him the hope and the possibility of 
attaining to eternal life. These great events, as all will 
admit, or none others of the kind have occurred since 
the creation of man. In view, then, of the analogy of 
creation and providence, of the character of God and 
of his relations to man, together with the known and 
undeniable condition of humanity, the balance of prob- 
ability is infinitely in favor of the actual occurrence of 
miracles since man was created, and consequently in 
favor of the great facts which, as divinely attested wit- 
nesses, are affirmed to stand around .Christianity, and 



THE BIBLE. MIKACLES. 353 

assert its divine origin. In arguing for the real occur- 
rence of these events, we are not arguing in favor of 
that of improbabilities, but of events which bear upon 
their broad foreheads all the indications of the highest 
probability. Our second argument is this : — 

2. It is infinitely more reasonable to admit the reality 
of the great facts under consideration, than it is to 
affirm what, in that case we must do, of Moses, and 
the prophets, of Jesus Christ and the apostles, of 
the whole multitude of their immediate followers, and 
of all the sacred writers, namely, that they were all, 
without exception, deliberate deceivers, and impostors 
of the grossest character. Either these events really 
occurred, or they all knew when they affirmed their 
reality, that they were affirming what was false. There 
is no escaping this conclusion. The facts, as we have 
seen, were of such a nature that misapprehension in 
regard to their occurrence or non-occurrence, was an 
absolute impossibility. Those, then, who testified, as 
original witnesses to their actual occurrence, were in- 
tentional deceivers, or the events referred to actually oc- 
curred. Individuals who deny the facts, and yet admit 
the integrity of the witnesses, must show how honest 
and intelligent minds can honestly suppose themselves 
to have witnessed just such events, when no such thing 
ever occurred. This they may do, if they can do it, in 
either of these two ways or both together. (1.) They 
may show, upon truly scientific principles, how just such 
errors may occur with honest and intelligent minds ; so 
that we may induce similar misapprehensions in our- 
selves and others. Or (2.), they may themselves actually 
induce similar misapprehensions in a corresponding 
number of individuals similarly circumstanced, and of 
similar mental capacity and cultivation. No individu- 

30* 



354 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

als, we venture the affirmation, will ever attempt the ac- 
complishment of either of these objects; and that for 
the obvious reason, that all are and must be aware, that 
it would be attempting an absolute impossibility. 
If, on the other hand, an individual should deny the 
facts before us, and assert, as the only alternative left 
him, the hypocrisy of Christ and the other witnesses 
referred to, he would, if not regarded as beneath con- 
tempt, meet and most justly meet with the deep repro- 
bation of the universe. For ourselves we never met 
with but one individual who had the hardihood and 
effrontery to impeach the moral character of Jesus 
Christ, and he is the only consistent infidel that we ever 
did meet with, there being no conceivable absurdity 
greater than this, to admit the perfection of his moral 
character, and then deny the divinity of his mission, or 
the divine origin of the Scriptures. Either Jesus Christ; 
is the crowning impostor of earth, or his mission was 
divine, and his religion from heaven. We dare not 
assert the former, and therefore, as the only conceivable 
alternative left us, admit and affirm the latter. For our- 
selves, we have no confidence whatever in the real 
moral honesty of the men who are fulsome in their 
eulogies of the character of Christ, and then deny the 
divine origin of that religion which he proclaimed as 
from heaven. 

Similar remarks apply equally to the sacred writers 
generally. Their deep sincerity, honesty, and integrity, 
are so manifest in all their writings, that no man can, 
by any possibility, impeach their integrity and retain 
his own. Yet, by no possibility, can he show how 
they could have been any thing else than the grossest 
impostors and deceivers that ever cursed the earth, if 
the great facts to the reality of which they bear testi- 



THE BIBLE. MIRACLES. 355 

mony never occurred. No possible alternative is left 
us, consistent Arith moral integrity in ourselves, but to 
admit the facts, and with that admission the necessary 
conclusion, that Christianity is of divine origin. We 
hesitate not to affirm to every reader, that he cannot 
maintain internal moral integrity and come to any 
other conclusion. 

3. The amount of testimony existing on this subject, 
that is, the number of witnesses testifying to the actual 
occurrence of these great facts, is wholly incompatible 
with the assumption, that they never occurred. Its 
existence, on the other hand, can by no possibility be 
accounted for, but upon one supposition, the actual oc- 
currence of the facts referred to. That a few indi- 
viduals should unite, for interested motives, in the 
propagation of known falsehoods, is quite conceivable ; 
though it is not conceivable that such individuals 
as Moses and the prophets, and Jesus and the Apos- 
tles, should do it. However this may be, it is not even 
conceivable that whole nations should, with absolute 
unanimity, join together for any such purpose. How 
stands the case in regard to the facts before us ? In 
regard to the miraculous events recorded in the Old 
Testament, we have the united testimony of the entire 
Jewish nation living at the time, to the reality of their 
occurrence. We have also the unbroken testimony of 
that entire race since those periods, to the reality and 
universality of the belief among them, of the real occur- 
rence of these events, at the time and under the circum- 
stances related. In this respect this nation sustains 
precisely the same relations to these events that ours 
does to the facts of our past history. Our ancestors 
then living unitedly testified to their occurrence. His- 
torical records made at the time, and an unbroken 



356 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

tradition since, have handed them down to us. as 
actual occurrences. Our forms of government, s ate 
and national customs, annual festivals, and national 
monuments, all have such relations to those events, that 
the existence of the latter can be accounted for, but 
upon the supposition of the actual occurrence of the 
former, all together constituting a form of evidence 
which never does and never can deceive, and which dis- 
tance of time can never weaken or invalidate. Precisely 
similar relations does the Jewish nation, together with 
all their historical records, traditions, national monu- 
ments, and usages, sustain to the events under con- 
sideration, and no one can show why this evidence 
should not be regarded as just as valid for the actual 
occurrence of these events, as that presented by this 
nation is for the facts of our past history. 

Let us now turn to the great events recorded in the 
New Testament. Who are the witnesses to their oc- 
currence ? They are the following : the sacred writers 
themselves, — the entire mass of primitive converts, — 
multitudes of early apostates from the faith, — the whole 
Jewish nation, — and the entire pagan population of 
Palestine, of whom there were vast multitudes. The 
testimony of the first two classes was direct and abso- 
lute. They had been eye-witnesses to the things where- 
of they affirmed, and the fact that they unitedly laid 
down their lives in defence of the gospel, evinces abso- 
lutely the honesty of their convictions of the reality of 
these great events. We must bear in mind, also, that 
they could not possibly have been mistaken, in regard to 
the truth or falsehood of their testimony. Can we sup- 
pose that such vast numbers of individuals would lay 
down their lives in testimony to the reality of that which 
they knew absolutely never occurred, and where, from 



THE BIBLE. MIKACLES. 357 

the nature of the case, no conceivable motives existed to 
induce them to become Christians but the reality of 
these events ? The other three classes must be admitted 
to be very important and credible witnesses, inasmuch 
as they could not but be aware of the deception which 
was being perpetrated upon the world, had these events 
not occurred, and they had every conceivable motive to 
unmask the imposition. Nothing, therefore, but the 
deepest conviction of the reality of these events could 
have induced them to testify to their occurrence. 

There is one characteristic of the testimony of these 
three classes which demands our special attention, that 
of their silence. When any very startling events are 
affirmed to have occurred, events which all have the 
highest conceivable motives to deny, if they did not 
occur, and when no one can possibly be mistaken in 
regard to the fact of their occurrence or non-occurrence, 
the total absence of all denial among all classes of com- 
munity, is the highest and most positive testimony 
which that community can give to their actual occur- 
rence. It shows, that in the united judgment of all, the 
evidence of their occurrence was so palpable and over- 
whelming, that it could not be invalidated. Now while 
the great facts of which we are speaking, were held be- 
fore the world as having occurred in the presence of all 
the classes under consideration, no apostate, Jew, or 
Pagan, can be shown to have denied their actual occur- 
rence as affirmed by Christians. "Would they not have 
done it, had they not known that their occurrence could 
not have been denied ? 

On the other hand, all these classes together unitedly 
admitted the occurrence of these events. We find such 
admissions in the Jewish writings of the highest author- 
ity among that people. In the epistles of Pilate and 



358 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

other Roman governors also, formal records of these 
events were contained. This is evident from the fact, 
that the early Christian writers were accustomed to ap- 
peal to those very epistles as existing in the archives of 
the Emperors, and as containing the records of these 
events. The early Christians never had any controversy 
with their opponents in regard to the question, whether 
the mighty works ascribed to Jesus Christ were actually 
performed in their midst. How shall we account for 
such testimony, the reality of which cannot be denied ? 
It can be accounted for, we reply, but upon one exclu- 
sive supposition, the actual occurrence of these events, 
and the consequent divine origin of Christianity. Those 
millions of people, Apostles, Christians, apostates, Jews, 
and Pagans, never did unite in thus testifying to what 
they all knew to be false, which they did do, if these 
events never occurred. The opponents of Christianity 
never have met this argument, and we are well per- 
suaded they never will do it. 

4. We shall fail to do full justice to this department 
of our subject, if we do not make some special remarks 
upon the nature and character of the evidence under 
consideration. In every possible respect, it bears the 
clearest marks of the highest conceivable credibility. 
It is the testimony of enemies, drawn from them con- 
trary to all their worldly interests, principles, and preju- 
dices, and can be accounted for but upon one supposi- 
tion, the firm and immutable conviction, that these 
events had actually occurred, and were attended in 
their occurrence with such palpable evidence, that it 
could not be resisted nor invalidated, a conviction, also, 
which could by no possibility be induced but by the 
actual occurrence of the events themselves. Every 
convert to Christianity was originally .its enemy, and 



THE BIBLE. MIRACLES. 359 

became, in the very act of conversion, an apostate from 
his former religion, and the religion of his ancestors, 
and thereby not only rendered himself infamous in 
public estimation, but subjected himself to the most 
intolerable sufferings and persecutions. Nothing but 
the deepest and most immovable conviction of the 
reality of the great facts under consideration, and the 
consequent truth of Christianity, can account for the 
numberless conversions which occurred under such 
circumstances. 

In regard to apostates, we must distinguish between 
a renunciation of Christianity, and a denial of the 
reality of the miracles on which its claims to a divine 
origin were based. Had these events not occurred, 
they must have known, and have been fully informed 
of the cheat which was being perpetrated upon the 
world. Every conceivable inducement also pressed 
upon them to unmask the imposture, had it existed. 
The fact that they renounced Christianity without, in 
a single known instance, denying its miracles, is the 
highest demonstration of the fact, that in their judg- 
ment, those great events could not be denied. No 
other conceivable supposition can account for their 
silence on this subject. Their testimony, then, bears 
the marks of the highest credibility. 

In regard to the Jews, these great events were every- 
where, as they well knew, being proclaimed, as having 
occurred under their direct and immediate observation. 
They were held up to the world as opposing Christianity 
with a full knowledge of the reality of the facts on which 
its claims to a divine origin were based. They, moreover, 
based the claims of their own religion on the evidence 
of its miracles, and stood publicly committed before the 
world to the principle, that none but the true religion 



360 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

is or can be attested by such evidence. Of all relig- 
ions on earth, we remark finally, none were held by them 
in such utter detestation as Christianity. How shall 
we account for the fact, that under such circumstances, 
they never denied the reality of the great events under 
consideration, on the one hand, and that they posi- 
tively admitted their occurrence, as affirmed by Chris- 
tians, on the other ? No explanation of such conduct 
is possible, but upon the fact that they knew absolutely 
that these events, as affirmed by Christians, had oc- 
curred under such circumstances that their reality could 
not be denied. 

The relation of the Pagan inhabitants of Palestine to 
those events was such, that they could not have been 
ignorant of the real facts of the case. It was a part of 
the business of their rulers to acquaint themselves fully 
with the character of all important events which were 
occurring among the people, and especially in their 
large assemblages, whenever occurring, assemblages in 
which these events are affirmed to have occurred. If 
these events had not taken place, as related and affirmed 
by Christians, their pagan rulers could not but have 
been aware of the imposition which was being perpe- 
trated upon the world, and would have unmasked the 
imposture to the reprobation of mankind. Instead of 
this, they not only did not deny these facts, but ad- 
mitted them, and themselves positively testified to their 
actual occurrence. If such testimony as this can de- 
ceive us, we may safely affirm, that nothing on earth 
or in heaven can be established by testimony. Such 
testimony, however, never does and never can deceive. 
The claims of Christianity, therefore, to a divine origin, 
rest upon an eternal and immovable rock. 

5. The argument drawn from the .rapid and wide- 



THE BIBLE. MIRACLES. 361 

spread extension of Christianity, in the era of its first 
development, should not be overlooked in this connec- 
tion, an extension in which, notwithstanding the un- 
paralleled opposition and persecutions which it encoun- 
tered, it advanced onward from the smallest and 
apparently most contemptible beginnings, with such 
resistless power that, in less than three centuries from 
the era of the crucifixion, it ascended the throne of the 
Caesars, and became the established religion of the then 
civilized world. How can this strange event be ac- 
counted for? Upon one supposition only, the deep, 
universal, and immovable conviction, in that age, and 
throughout the Roman empire, of the reality of the 
great facts under consideration. The extension is ad- 
mitted and detailed by Gibbon. The existence, depth, 
and universality of this conviction, is also admitted 
and affirmed by him, and assigned, as one of the main 
causes of the power and progress of Christianity, and 
none will call in question the truth of his statements 
on this subject. Now we affirm that it is no more 
impossible to account for the universal belief of the 
world in the reality of our Revolution, on the supposi- 
tion that.it never occurred, than it is to account for 
the existence of the conviction under consideration, on 
the supposition, that the great events to which it per- 
tains never took place. We may challenge the world 
to assign any other adequate cause for the existence of 
this conviction, but this one. The opposers of Chris- 
tianity never have done it, and they never will do it, 
and that for the obvious reason that the thing is impos- 
sible. These great events, then, did occur, and Chris- 
tianity is from God/ 

6. We remark, finally, that we must admit the actual 
occurrence of the facts under consideration, and with 

31 



362 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

that admission affirm the divine origin of Christianity, 
or, to be consistent, we must deny the validity of all 
evidence of 'a historical kind, in regard to any past 
events whatever. On this topic we remark : (1.) That 
the authenticated records of any nation or people, are 
to be received as valid for the reality of the leading facts 
which they relate, unless there are reasons of the great- 
est weight of an opposite character. This is a universal 
principle pertaining to historical records of every kind. 
(2.) The historical records of the Jews and Christians, 
the Scriptures, records containing the account of these 
great events, are as well authenticated as are those of 
any other nation or people on earth. This is undeni- 
able. (3.) Hence, no reasons whatever can be assigned 
why we should credit the historical records of any 
nation on earth, and deny the reality of the great facts 
attested as real in the historical record of Jews and 
Christians, that is, in the Scriptures. All history of 
every kind must be held as utter fable and fiction, or 
the validity of these records must be admitted' for the 
reality of the great events under consideration, and, con- 
sequently, for the divine origin of Christianity. We 
know very well that the opposers of Christianity will 
never meet this argument. 

Such is a bare specimen of the nature and force of 
the Christian argument for the divine origin of our 
holy religion, as far as this one department of evidence 
is concerned. We again affirm, without fear of contra- 
diction, that this is a kind of evidence which never does 
and never can deceive. We leave the argument upon 
the conscience of the reader. Let him weigh it, de- 
cide and act upon it, with a solemn reference to the 
coming revelations of his approaching destiny. 



THE BIBLE. MIRACLES. 363 



CHAPTER II. 

ARGUMENT FROM PROPHECY. 

The reader is well aware of the fact, that a large 
portion of the Bible consists of professedly divinely 
inspired predictions pertaining to events lying in the 
future, at the time when these predictions were uttered. 
No one will doubt, that these predictions, supposing 
them to have been uttered prior to the events to which 
they pertain, were uttered either by inspiration of the 
Spirit of God, and consequently in their fulfilment en- 
circle the Scriptures, as divinely attested witnesses of 
their divine origin, or else that they are the result of 
mere human foresight and sagacity. 

There are but three ways in which the human intelli- 
gence, unaided and unguided by wisdom and foresight 
higher than its own, can even conjecture what shall 
occur in the future. The first is this : When all the 
causes that are operating or will operate to produce 
a given result are fully known, the result, by a calcula- 
tion of the force and direction of the action of such 
causes, may be predetermined. The calculation, in 
such a case, is purely mathematical, and the conclusion 
certain. Such is the character of all astronomical 
calculations. The second is, when men reason from 
mere precedent, conjecturing from what has occurred 
in the past, what will be in the future. Here we find 
ourselves in the region of uncertainty, the greatest 
events in human experience often turning upon purely 
accidental circumstances and occult causes, which no 
human sagacity could have foreseen, or even conjee- 



364 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

tured. Hence the total uncertainty of human fore- 
sight, in the wisest of men, is proverbial. The last 
class of human predictions are mere imaginings of 
what may be, with a supposition merely that it will 
be. Such suppositions, or guesses, are generally wrong, 
and are yet, in instances few and far between, verified 
by the actual occurrence of the events referred to. 

Prophetic predictions originating from the inspira- 
tion of the Spirit of God, and bearing the evidences 
of their divine original, must stand, in all their essen- 
tial characteristics, at an absolute remove from each of 
the classes of human predictions above named. They 
must be of such a nature as to be wholly out of the 
sphere of calculations frorn cause and effect, or from 
precedent, together with those of preimagined proba- 
bilities or possibilities. Their fulfilment also must be 
absolutely universal and perfect, thus indicating their 
origin from infinite wisdom and foresight. Predictions 
of this character, vast in number, and relating to an 
endless diversity of events which no human foresight 
could even conjecture, and yet all fulfilled in their exact 
time, and in absolute perfection, we all know can origi- 
nate but from the infinite and eternal mind who sees 
the end from the beginning. 

Oar object, on the present occasion, will be to show, 
that such is the precise character of the prophetic pre- 
dictions recorded in the Scriptures, predictions which 
thus, as divinely attested witnesses, stand in the midst 
of its sublime revelations, and affirm their divine origin. 



THE BIBLE. PROPHECY. 365 



SECTION L 

PREDICTIONS RECORDED IN THE OLD TESTAMENT. 

In accomplishing our object, our first remarks will 
have a special reference to predictions recorded in the 
Old Testament. On this subject, we remark: — 

1. These prophecies were uttered and recorded many 
centuries before most of the events to which they relate, 
and long periods before hardly any of them occurred. 
Four considerations render the truth of the above state- 
ment perfectly evident: (1.) The writings containing 
these predictions have ever been received among the 
Jews, as the productions of the very persons to whom 
they are now referred, namely, of prophets who lived at 
the periods named in the books themselves, periods cen- 
turies antecedent to most of the events foretold. (2.) No 
evidence whatever exists against the testimony of this 
nation on this subject No period in their history sub- 
sequent to the affirmed time of the prophets can be 
named when these writings did not exist among that 
people, and when, for the first time, they were intro- 
duced. (3.) At periods long prior to the occurrence of 
most of the events predicted, these writings were trans- 
lated into other languages. The Septuagint translation, 
for example, containing all these books, was made about 
three centuries prior to the birth of Christ. (4.) They 
were then translated as ancient writings, which had 
most of them for centuries previous existed as sacred 
books among the Jews. No further evidence surely is 
required to sustain the above proposition. 

2. The prophets had before them, at the time they 
uttered these predictions, no examples whatever of the 
rise and fall of nations and empires, from which they 

31* 



366 MODERN MYSTERIES* 

could form even a conjecture of the fate of those then 
existing around them. The nations also to whom their 
prophecies pertain, existed, at the time, in all their 
strength and glory, presenting the appearance of an 
immortal youth, with no indications whatever of a near 
or remote decay and dissolution, especially of a destruc- 
tion in any specific form. 

3. The nations and cities are very numerous whose 
destiny is foretold with great particularity in these pro- 
phetic writings, nations and cities, for example, such as 
Assyria, with Nineveh as its capital, Babylon, and the 
Chaldean empire, Persia, Greece, Egypt, Syria, and its 
capital Damascus, Tyre and Sidon, and Philistia, 
Edom, Ammon, and Moab, with their respective capi- 
tals, Petra, Rahab, and Heshbon, and Israel and Judah, 
with their capitals, Samaria and Jerusalem, etc. With 
all the particularity of history, we find the destiny of 
these illustrious cities, nations, and empires, mapped 
out in these wonderful writings. 

4. While a large number of different writers give 
forth predictions in respect to the destiny of these 
cities, nations, and empires, while some of these writers 
speak particularly of that of most or all of them, others 
of a less number, and some of but one or two, and while 
some predict particulars not mentioned by others, the 
predictions of all together blend perfectly into one har- 
monious unity of description and representation, with 
the total absence of all contradiction. We are quite 
safe, in affirming that no one has yet pointed out, if any 
has ever attempted it, a single contradiction in all or any 
of these numerous predictions proceeding from so many 
writers, writers living at great distances of time, located 
in widely different circumstances, and of natural talents 
and intellectual attainments equally diverse and unequal. 



THE BIBLE. PKOPHECY. 867 

5. While the destiny of all these cities, nations, and 
empires is mapped out with great minuteness and par- 
ticularity, in these prophetic writings, that of each one 
was to be peculiar to itself and widely diverse from 
all the others. The predictions pertaining to any one 
would not be at all applicable to any other. This 
is one of their most striking peculiarities. Let us 
consider a few of them as examples of all the others. 
"We are all aware that the Assyrian empire was to be 
subverted by the Persian and Babylonian, the Baby- 
lonian by the Persian under Cyrus mentioned by name, 
and this last by the Grecian, which after the death of its 
first king, was to be divided into four, and none of these 
come to the heirs of that monarch, and finally out of one 
of these four kingdoms, another and small one was to 
rise from which the greatest calamities were to descend 
upon the Jewish nation. Of the nation last named, 
one part, (the ten tribes,) were to be carried captive to 
Assyria, and the other, (Judah and Benjamin,) to Baby- 
lon. After remaining seventy years in captivity, the latter 
portion were to be resettled in their own land, after 
which all distinction of tribes among the whole Israel- 
itish nation was to cease. About five hundred years of 
mingled prosperity and adversity, mercy and judgment 
were then to intervene, when, subsequent to the death 
of " Messiah, the Prince," the nation itself, as a civil 
State, was to be blotted from existence, and to remain 
" scattered and peeled " among all nations, .till " the 
fulness of the Gentiles should come in." Tyre, Philis- 
tia, Edom, Ammon, Moab, etc., were to be utterly and 
permanently annihilated as nations, and Egypt, after 
going into captivity for a certain period, was to be 
restored again, but was never to regain its nationality. 
Such are some of the general features of these predic- 
tions. 



368 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

Let us now descend still further to a consideration of 
a few particulars. The army of Assyria was to be 
destroyed while engaged in a bacchanalian revel. 
" While they are drunken as drunkards, they shall be 
devoured as stubble fully dry." Nahum 1 : 10. Nineveh 
its capital was to be destroyed by successive catastro- 
phes ; first by a flood, then by fire, and then by being 
sacked by its enemies. Nahum 1:8. 3 : 15. Its de- 
struction was to be utter and final. Its " affliction was 
not to rise a second time," but it was to " become a 
desolation," a " place for beasts to lie down in." Nahum, 
1 : 9. Zeph. 2 : 13, 15. " Babylon, the golden city, the 
glory of kingdoms, the beauty of the Chaldees' excel- 
lency," was, after its armies were defeated in the field, to 
be taken by Cyrus, while its inhabitants were revelling in 
drunkenness and debauchery, and captured for two rea- 
sons, — the drying up of the river that ran through the 
midst of it, and the providential opening, at the same 
time, of the brazen gates which guarded the entrance to 
the city from the banks of that river. Isa, 45 : 1. Jer, 
50 : 38, 51 : 36, After being successively plundered, it 
was to be wholly desolated, and never again inhabited. 
The Arabian caravans were not to pitch their tents, nor 
were the shepherds to fold their flocks in it any more. 
On the other hand, it was for a period to become the 
dwelling-place of wild beasts ; then its palaces and 
habitations were to become the abode of owls, dragons, 
serpents, .vipers, and doleful creatures. Subsequently, 
it was to become " pools of water," in which the sea- 
fowls were to swim and utter their cries. Last of all, 
it was to become a " burnt mountain," Isa. 13 : 19. 14 : 
22, 23. Jer. 51 : 13-43. Egypt was to go into captivity 
for a season, and on its return was never again to lift 
itself up among the nations, On the other hand, it was 



THE BIBLE. PROPHECY. 369 

to become " the basest of kingdoms," and to be ever 
after ruled by foreign princes and not her own. Ez. 29 : 
15. 80 : 13. Of Tyre, the then centre of commerce for 
the civilized "world, we have the following predictions : 
" And they shall destroy the walls of Tyrus, and break 
down her towers : I will also scrape her dust from her, 
and make her like the top of a rock. It shall be a place 
for the spreading of nets in the midst of the sea." 
Edom also was to " be a desolation," as when God over- 
turned Sodom and Gomorrah, and such a desolation 
as to be utterly uninhabited. " No man shall abide there, 
neither shall a son of man dwell in it." Jer. xlix. 
and elsewhere. 

We have given the above simply as examples. No 
prophet appears as a copyist of any other. Yet, while 
one often predicts what is not referred to by others, 
when speaking on the same subject, no contradiction, 
we repeat, appears among them, but a perfect unity of 
design and representation. At the same time, how 
particular and specific are their statements. How 
peculiar is the destiny marked out for each people, 
nation, or city, and how diverse from that of every 
other. We never find prophecies of desolations in 
general, but always in specific and peculiar forms. 

6. This leads us to remark, in the next instance, that 
at the time when these prophets lived and wrote, no 
events conceivable, seemed of less likely occurrence 
than those to which these predictions refer. All these 
kingdoms existed, as we have already said, in all the 
plenitude of their power and glory. Every city referred 
to was the abode of untold wealth, and surrounded 
with the most impregnable defences that could be 
erected by the art of man at the time. Nineveh, ac- 
cording to Diodorus Siculus, was surrounded by walls 



370 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

sixty miles in extent, one hundred feet high, and so 
thick that three chariots could go abreast upon them. 
It had fifteen hundred towers at proper distances in the 
walls, each tower being two hundred feet in height. 
Within were every means of defence, and provisions to 
sustain^ siege to any length of time. The walls of 
Babylon were three hundred and fifty feet high, and 
eighty-seven feet in thickness. Outside of these was a 
ditch of great width and depth, and always filled with 
water. Its gates were all of brass, and were opened 
but in the daytime. .It was garrisoned within by 
numerous armies, and so provisioned that it could not 
be straitened by being besieged from without. How 
utterly improbable was it, that cities which for ages 
had stood thus " proudly preeminent " amid surround- 
ing nations, and against which no force then existing 
on earth could have any apparent power, would, ere a 
few centuries were past, become utter and perpetual 
desolations. So of all the other objects of the prophetic 
predictions under consideration. Upon mere calcula- 
tions of worldly experience and observation, those who 
gave utterance to such predictions must have appeared 
as madmen, rather than as speaking by inspiration of 
the Spirit of God. 

7. Yet, we remark finally, not one of these strange 
utterances failed of its full and complete accomplish- 
ment. The prophet had said of Assyria, that when its 
army was " drunken as drunkards, they should be de- 
stroyed as stubble fully dry." Accordingly, Diodorus 
Siculus relates, that "while all the Assyrian army was 
feasting for its former victories, that those about Arbaces 
(king of the Medes) "being informed by deserters 
of the negligence and drunkenness in the camp of 
their enemies, assaulted them unexpectedly by night, 



THE BIBLE. PROPHECY. 371 

slew many of the soldiers, and drove the rest into the 
city." " In the third year of the siege," he further in- 
forms us, " the river being swollen with continual rains, 
broke down the walls of Nineveh for twenty furlongs." 
The king then " built a large funeral pile in the palace, 
and, collecting together all his wealth and his concu- 
bines and eunuchs, burnt himself and the palace with 
them all ; and the enemy entered the breach that the 
waters had made, and took the city." Thus, according 
to the sayings of the prophets, it was destroyed, first 
by the drunkenness of the army, then by water and 
fire, and finally by being sacked by the enemy. Its 
destruction also was complete and perpetual. Modern 
science is now developing, from the bowels of the 
earth, where that proud monument of ancient great- 
ness once stood, the demonstrations of prophetic fore- 
sight in Israel's divinely inspired seers. With the 
manner in which, in perfect accordance with prophetic 
prediction, Babylon was taken and plundered by Cyrus, 
the reader is no doubt familiar. Defeated in one or 
two battles without, the Chaldean army took refuge 
within the walls and defences of the city, which the 
conqueror referred to proceeded to besiege. Learning 
that on a given night the whole city would be given 
up to feasting and revelry, he succeeded, by means of 
trenches, canals, and an. artificial lake which he had 
excavated, in draining, on the same night, the Euphra- 
tes, which ran through its centre, so as to leave the 
channel dry for the introduction of his army into the 
heart of the city, where, as he expected and as the 
prophets had foretold, they found the gates which 
guarded the entrance from the channel into the streets, 
left wide open. 

Thus Babylon was first taken and plundered. For 



372 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

a long period, however, though successively plundered, 
it retained much of its royal magnificence, being made 
the capital of the Macedonian empire, under Alexander. 
When Seleucia, however, became the capital of the 
eastern portion of that empire, after its division, the 
nobility and wealthy portion of the people of Babylon 
followed the royal family to the former city. These in 
time were followed by the entire population, and Baby- 
lon became desolated of all its inhabitants. Subse- 
quently, one of the latter kings of Persia, in the fourth 
century after Christ, converted it into a chase to keep 
wild beasts for hunting within its walls. Ages rolled 
on, and by the falling in of the roofs of houses, the decay 
of vegetation, etc., it became the abode of serpents, 
vipers, and poisonous reptiles, so that, according to an 
ancient writer, no one could approach excepting in 
winter, within half a league of it. In a subsequent age, 
by the change of the channel of the river, much of the 
city was overflowed, and became " pools of water," in 
which, as predicted, the sea-fowl makes its appearance. 
Now the curtain falls over this devoted city, and for 
centuries it remains concealed from the vision of civil- 
ization, till modern travellers visit the place where 
" the beauty of the Chaldee's excellency once stood." 
We wish to know whether one more prediction has 
been fulfilled. Babylon was to become a " burnt 
mountain." History records no occurrence whatever 
in which such a prediction could be fulfilled. Israel's 
seer, however, has said that it should be so, and what 
do modern travellers find there ? In approaching the 
place, a high mound lifts its form to view, a mound 
constituted no doubt of the ruins of the ancient temple 
of Belus, or the tower of Babel, now composed, in the 
language of another, of "'immense fragments of brick- 



THE BIBLE. PROPHECY. 373 

work of no determinate figures, tumbled together and 
converted into solid vitrified masses," masses " com- 
pletely molten." " The heat of the fire," says Sir 
Robert Ker Porter, "which produced such amazing 
effects, must have burned with the force of the strong- 
est furnace ; and from the general appearance of the 
cleft in the wall, and these vitrified masses, I should 
be induced to attribute the catastrophe to lightning 
from heaven. Ruins by the explosion of any com- 
bustible matter would have exhibited very different 
appearances." Again he says, " the falling masses bear 
evident proof of the operation of fire having been con- 
tinued on them as well after they were broken as before, 
since every part of their surface has been so completely 
exposed to it that many of them have acquired a 
rounded form, and in none can the place of separation 
from its adjoining one be traced by any appearance of 
superior freshness, or any exemption from the influence 
of the destroying flame." So much for the relations 
of prophetic foresight to this once proud mistress of 
the world, who boasted in the pride of her vainglory 
saying, " I shall be a lady forever ; I am, and none else 
beside me ; I shall not sit as a widow, neither shall I 
know the loss of children." Let us now turn in other 
directions. The voyager, as he sails up the Mediterra- 
nean, approaches at length the site of ancient Tyre, " the 
crowning city, whose merchants were once princes, and 
whose traffickers the honorable of the earth," and what 
does he now behold there ? A mass of naked rocks from 
which even the dust has been totally scraped off, and 
upon which a few miserable fishermen are drying their 
nets. Egypt, disrobed of all her former greatness, de- 
prived of her nationality, and ruled over by foreign 
despots, has stood for eighteen centuries, the " basest 

32 



374 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

of kingdoms," as a monument visible to all the world, 
of an unearthly and superhuman foresight in those 
ancient prophets. We need not speak of Israel and 
Judah, of Edom and Moab, and Ammon and Philistia, 
and other nations and their proud capitals. From one 
hundred to one thousand years prior to the full occur- 
rence of the great events predicted, the destiny of all 
these nations and cities were definitely marked out with 
an astonishing particularity, and where each was to be 
subject to a series of catastrophes altogether peculiar to 
itself, and diverse from that of all the others. Yet not 
one of all these endlessly multiplied and diversified pre- 
dictions has failed of its full and complete accomplish- 
ment, and that in every particular, the least as well as 
the greatest. Yet every solitary event predicted had 
the greatest conceivable antecedent probability against 
its occurrence. Nothing in the previous experience of 
these or other nations could have suggested, even to the 
wildest imagination, the peculiar destiny of any one of 
these cities or nations. What must we think of this 
strange foresight in these wonderful men ? We affirm 
that but one cause can be conceived of adequate to the 
production of such results, and that is the cause as- 
signed in the Scriptures themselves, namely : " For the 
prophecy came not in old time by the will of man : but 
holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the 
Holy Ghost." The cause which originated these pre- 
dictions possessed not only a foresight of the future, 
but one that has all possible characteristics of absolute 
infallibility. By a reference to the known powers of 
the human mind, we cannot account for the mere exist- 
ence of the ideas expressed in those predictions, much 
less for the relations of infallible foresight which they 
sustain to the events to which they relate. 



THE BIBLE. PROPHECY. 375 



SECTION n. 

NEW TESTAMENT PREDICTIONS. 

Of the numberless predictions recorded in the New 
Testament, we select but two as examples of all the 
others. The first is found Rev. iii. 10, and pertains 
to the church of Philadelphia. " Because thou hast 
kept the word of my patience, I also will keep thee 
from the hour of temptation, which shall come upon 
all the world, to try them that dwell upon the earth." 
This one city, or rather the church in it, was to be pre- 
served amid the sweeping desolations which were to 
overwhelm all the others. How has that prediction 
been fulfilled ? Let an infidel historian tell us. Speak- 
ing of this and the other cities containing the seven 
churches of Asia, Gibbon makes the following state- 
ments : " In the loss of Ephesus, the Christians deplored 
the fall of the first angel, the extinction of the first 
candlestick of the Revelation: the desolation is com- 
plete, and the temple of Diana, or the church of Mary, 
will equally elude the search of the curious traveller. 
The circus, and three stately theatres of Laodicea, are 
now peopled by wolves and foxes. Sardis is reduced to 
a miserable village; the God of Mahomet, without a 
rival, is invoked in the mosques of Thyatira and Perga- 
mos ; and the populousness of Smyrna is supported by 
the foreign trade of the Franks and Armenians. Phila- 
delphia alone had been saved by prophecy or courage." 
"Among the Greek colonies, and churches of Asia, 
Philadelphia is still erect : a column in a scene of ruins." 
How happened it, that the eye of the Revelator fell 
upon this single church and marked it out as the only 
one which was to be preserved in the midst of the sur- 



376 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

rounding desolations ? The individual that will enter- 
tain the sentiment, that this is an instance of unaided 
human foresight, shows an equal want of candor, and 
ignorance of what is and is not possible to man. 

The second prediction to which we will refer, we will 
place before the reader, by presenting the attempt of an 
arch enemy of Christianity to prove it false, by the ac- 
complishment of what Christ had said, should not then 
be accomplished. Christ had predicted, that the temple 
and city of Jerusalem should be trodden down by the 
Gentiles, " till the fulness of the Gentiles should come 
in." Julian the Apostate, when Emperor of Rome, re- 
solved to prove that prophecy false, by rebuilding that 
temple, and restoring it to its ancient splendor. This 
he resolved upon about three hundred years after its 
destruction. He accordingly turned the resources of 
the empire to the accomplishment of that object. The 
following is Gibbon's account of the effort, and of its 
final result. The minister Alypius " received an extra- 
ordinary commission, to restore, in its pristine beauty, 
the temple of Jerusalem, and the diligence of Alypius 
required and obtained the strenuous support of the gov- 
ernor of Palestine. At the call of their great deliverer, 
the Jews, from all the provinces of the empire, assembled 
on the holy mountain of their fathers ; and their insolent 
triumph alarmed and exasperated the Christian inhabi- 
tants of Jerusalem. The desire of rebuilding the temple 
has in every age been the ruling passion of the children 
of Israel. In this propitious moment the men forgot 
their avarice, and the women their delicacy ; spades and 
pickaxes of silver were provided by the vanity of the 
rich, and the rubbish was transported in mantles of silk 
and purple. Every purse was opened in liberal contri- 



THE BTBLE. PROPHECY. 377 

bution; every hand claimed a share in the pious labor; 
and the commands of a great monarch were executed by 
the enthusiasm of a whole people." 

" Yet on this occasion, the joint efforts of power and 
enthusiasm were unsuccessful ; and the ground of the 
Jewish temple, which is now covered by a Mohammedan 
mosque, still continues to exhibit the same edifying 
spectacle of ruin and desolation. 

" Perhaps the absence and death of the Emperor, and 
the new maxims of a Christian reign, might explain 
the interruption of an arduous work, which was 
attempted only in the last six months of the life of 
Julian. But the Christians entertained a natural and 
pious expectation, that in this memorable contest, the 
honor of religion would be vindicated by some signal 
miracle. An earthquake, a whirlwind, and a fiery erup- 
tion, which overturned and scattered the new founda- 
tions of the temple, are attested, with some variations, 
by contemporary and respectable evidence. This pub- 
lic event is described by Ambrose, Bishop of Milafi, in 
an epistle to the Emperor Theodosius, which must 
provoke the severe animadversion of the Jews ; by the 
eloquent Chrysostom, who might appeal to the memory 
of the elder part of his congregation at Antioch ; and 
Gregory Nazianzen, who published his account of the 
miracle before the expiration of the same year. The 
last of these writers has boldly declared, that this pre- 
ternatural event was not disputed by infidels; and his 
assertion, strange as it may seem, is confirmed by the 
unexceptionable testimony of Ammianus Marcellinus. 
The philosophic soldier, who loved the virtues without 
adopting the prejudices of his master, has recorded, in 
his judicious and candid history of his own times, the 

32* 



378 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

extraordinary obstacle which interrupted the restoration 
of the temple of Jerusalem. 

" Whilst Alypius, assisted by the governor of the prov- 
ince, urged with vigor and diligence the execution of 
the work, horrible balls of fire breaking out near the 
foundations, with frequent and reiterated attacks, ren- 
dered the place, from time to time, inaccessible to the 
scorched and blasted workmen ; and the victorious ele- 
ment continuing in this manner obstinately and reso- 
lutely bent, as it were, to drive them to a distance, the 
undertaking was abandoned. Such authority should 
satisfy a believing, and must astonish an incredulous 
mind." 

Such is the record and testimony of the infidel 
historian. We leave it to speak for itself. The author- 
ity and facts adduced do satisfy the believing, and 
should they not more than astonish the incredulous 
mind ? Should they not induce in him the apprehen- 
sion, if not the unshaken conviction, that beneath the 
system of Christianity lies the rock of eternal truth, 
and that the superstructure raised upon that rock is 
nothing else than the handiwork of God himself? In 
the strong-hold based upon that rock, may we not 
safely take refuge for eternity ? 

Such is prophecy, as it appears in the Scriptures of 
truth, and such is its fulfilment. We might with almost 
as much show of reason affirm absolute omniscience of 
the prophets, as to affirm that they were illuminated by 
any other cause than Omniscience itself, in the predic- 
tions recorded in Scripture, — predictions which, now 
verified by their most minute and absolute accom- 
plishment, stand in the midst of its high revelations 
as divinely attested monuments and witnesses of the 



THE BIBLE. PROPHECY. 379 

divine origin of Christianity. We might have multi- 
plied examples to any extent. What we have adduced, 
however, is sufficient for our purpose. We affirm, that 
such predictions as these do not attest the truth of 
that which is unreal and untrue. In their midst, the 
Bible, that " dearest of books, that excels every other," 
stands before us as nothing else than the divinely 
attested word of God, and as such, as a light shining 
in upon our darkness, a " light to which we do well to 
take heed, till the day dawn, and the day-star arise in 
our hearts." 

All these divine predictions, however, are not yet 
fulfilled. Some refer to what is yet to be in the future 
history of our race. Others extend our vision beyond 
the circle of time, and indicate what shall be the con- 
nection of present character and deeds with the events 
of that eternal future, long after "the sun shall be 
turned into darkness, and the moon into blood." Every 
foretold event of the past has taken its place in exact 
accordance with these predictions. Is the connection 
between these same hitherto infallible predictions and 
what yet remains to be accomplished, less indissoluble ? 
" Heaven and earth will pass away, but my word," 
says the Author and spirit of prophecy itself, " shall 
not pass away." 



380 MODERN MYSTERIES. 



CHAPTER III. 

ARGUMENT FROM INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 

Every production of an intelligent agent will bear 
somewhere upon it the indications of the character of 
its author. Whatever is strictly human in its origin, 
will present the characteristic imperfections of hu- 
manity. Whatever, on the other hand, is really and 
truly of divine original, will have pencillings upon it 
which the mind will perceive could have been drawn 
but by the finger of God. All will admit, at the outset 
of our remarks, that the Scriptures are either human or 
divine in their origin. If they are exclusively of man, 
they will present the characteristic imperfections of 
humanity, and of humanity in the . particular era and 
circumstances in which they were written. But if they 
are of divine original, the production itself, when wisely 
and candidly contemplated, will present the most abso- 
lute demonstration of the divinity of its origin. We 
here lay down this proposition, which we shall proceed 
to establish, that there are two great volumes that God 
has written, the book of nature and the book of inspira- 
tion, that each bears equally the most absolute indica- 
tions of a divine original, and that it would be just as 
unreasonable to suppose that man is the author of the 
one as of the other. The author of the former, we 
know perfectly, must be possessed of all the attributes 
involved in the ideas of absolute infinity and per- 
fection. On the other, we perceive with equal dis- 
tinctness the pencillings of the same infinity and per- 
fection. The mind cannot entertain a greater absurdity 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 381 

than to ascribe the origin of the universe of matter and 
mind, to any finite oeuse. An absurdity not less gross, 
as we purpose to prove, is involved in ascribing the 
Bible to man as its originator and exclusive author. 

It is not easy for us to set limits to the possible at- 
tainments of humanity. Yet there are some things 
which no one hesitates to affirm, as impossible to man. 
We know absolutely, for example, that no untutored 
savage could originate the Paradise Lost. Above all, 
we know absolutely, that twelve such savages did not, 
and could not, each, without knowing at all what either 
of the others were doing, write one of the twelve books 
of that great production, the twelve books thus sepa- 
rately written, possessing an absolute unity of concep- 
tion and arrangement, and all together constituting one 
perfectly harmonious whole. Equally manifest is it, 
that no twelve men of any degree of mental cultivation, 
could thus independently and undesignedly produce 
the separate parts of any such work. Suppose that 
twelve men had, in this or in a similar manner, origi- 
nated such a production, each writing perfectly inde- 
pendently of all the others, and in absolute ignorance 
of what they were doing, and yet the productions of 
each should fall in with those of all the others, so as to 
constitute one grand, sublime, and perfectly unified 
whole, having all possible indications of being the pro- 
duction of some one mind, a mind which comprehended 
the whole together with all its parts, and originated 
and adapted each part accordingly. We should con- 
clude in that case, with the most undoubting certainty, 
that each and all these twelve individuals acted under 
the guidance of some such mind in what they produced, 
and that they were but instruments in its production, 
thinking and writing only as they were moved by this 



382 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

one mind, and that in accordance with his thoughts and 
purposes. On no other supposition could the existence 
of a production originated through such diverse instru- 
mentalities be possibly accounted for. 

The above supposition presents a faint illustration of 
the indications which we have in the Scriptures them- 
selves, that the multiplied writers who composed the 
different parts of the same, were all under the guidance 
of some one all-controlling, all-unifying intelligence, 
out of and infinitely above their own. The thoughts 
presented, are infinitely above the possible reach of the 
human intelligence in any age, especially in those in 
which the Bible was written. At the same time, there 
is among them all an absolute unity of conception and 
representation impossible to such a number of minds, 
each acting independently of, or even in intentional con- 
cert with the others, on any subject whatever, and above 
all on the high themes treated of in .the sacred volume. 
Such thoughts, and such a unity of conception and 
representation in regard to the same, as obtains among 
the sacred writers, we hesitate not to affirm is just as 
impossible to man, unguided by an intelligence out of 
and above himself, as the creation of a world. We 
will now proceed to illustrate the thought here ex- 
pressed by a reference to a few examples. 

1. We will begin with the idea of God as developed in 
the Scriptures. Let us first contemplate the harmony 
and identity of this idea with that revealed in creation. 
We know perfectly, as we have already said, that the 
author of the universe of matter and of mind must 
possess all the attributes involved in the ideas of abso- 
lute infinity and perfection. This is the identical being 
revealed to our contemplation in the Bible, with this 
difference only, that in the latter, Divinity, in all the 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 383 

infinity of his perfections, stands revealed in absolutely 
perfect adaptation to the known and acknowledged 
necessities of universal humanity, humanity in all 
ages and in all circumstances. The following are the 
fundamental characteristics of this idea as shadowed 
forth in the sacred volume. (1.) It is absolutely perfect 
in itself. No conceivable attribute belonging to an 
absolutely infinite and perfect mind is wanting, and 
each attribute, as there revealed, is absolutely perfect 
in its kind. No element can, by any possibility, be 
added to or taken from this great and all-overshadow- 
ing idea as here developed, without marring its beauty 
and perfection. (2.) This infinite and eternal being here 
stands revealed in full and absolute adaptation to the 
known and acknowledged necessities of universal 
humanity, in all ages, and in all circumstances actual 
and conceivable. The idea of God, as here given, is 
not only absolutely perfect in itself, but equally perfect 
in its adaptation to the known necessities of fallen 
humanity. (3.) While the sacred volume is made up of 
the productions of from forty to sixty writers, to say 
the least, and while the idea of God is the grand and 
all-absorbing theme of them all, there is among them, 
without exception, an absolute unity of conception and 
representation in regard to it. No one writer affirms 
of God what is denied by another. No one, by any 
representation, mars the perfection of the idea in itself, 
arrays it in any other light than that of perfect adap- 
tation to the condition and wants of man as a sinner, 
or breaks, in the least degree, the absolute unity of 
conception and representation of it under consideration. 
(4.) No man, nor any number of men, in the era in 
which the sacred writers lived, nor in any preceding 
age, had made any approach toward the perfect con- 



384 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

ception and representation of this great truth, which 
obtains among the sacred writers. Out of this one 
circle, humanity, in all its researches, had not attained 
to a conception of the divine unity, much less to that 
of the infinity and perfection of God. (5.) Among a 
similar number of minds, in any age since that era, 
minds who have attempted to copy the great orig- 
inal, and have taken the sacred writers as their all 
authoritative guides in doing it, have the same per- 
fection and unity of conception and representation 
obtained. In this respect the Bible stands alone, lifting 
its sublime summit to absolute infinity above all human 
productions. 

How came this great idea in these minds ? Whence 
originated its absolute perfection of conception and 
representation, together with its equally perfect adap- 
tation to the condition and necessities of universal 
humanity ? Whence, above all, this absolute unity of 
conception and representation of this all-overshadow- 
ing reality among these writers, a unity absolutely im- 
possible to humanity on any great subject, and above 
all, on such a one as this ? But one answer can be 
given to such questions, that that idea came into those 
minds from a light above humanity, and that in con- 
ceiving and shadowing it forth, they were under the 
supreme control of an intelligence other than their own, 
an intelligence possessed of an absolutely perfect 
knowledge of God, on the one hand, and of universal 
humanity on the other. In the revelation itself, a 
knowledge absolutely perfect of both alike is demonstra- 
bly evinced, a kind and degree of knowledge utterly 
impossible to man unaided by a power out of and in- 
finitely above himself, and which can pertain to none but 
the infinite and eternal mind. 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 385 

Let those who would object to the validity of the 
above argument show, if they can, a similar perfection 
and unity of conception and representation among a simi- 
lar number of writers, similarly circumstanced, on this 
or on any kindred subject, or indeed on any important 
subject whatever. If they will not do this, and we are 
very sure they will not attempt it, let them show us how 
such attainments are possible to such minds, or to any 
class of minds under any circumstances whatever, but 
by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. To our minds, 
the argument is complete and unanswerable. The fact 
of the unity and perfection of conception and represen- 
tation, under consideration, cannot be denied, without 
a denial of what we all know to be true of the word of 
God. The occurrence of this great fact is conceivable 
but upon one supposition, that those in whom it appears 
were under the guidance of some one all-presiding in- 
telligence out of and above themselves, that is, of the 
Spirit of God. 

2. The character of Christ, as developed in the Scrip- 
tures, is a phenomenon also, the existence of which can, by 
no possibility, be accounted for on but one supposition, 
that its origin is divine. In the character of Christ two 
distinct and opposite elements are harmoniously blended, 
the infinite and the finite, God and humanity. " In the 
beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
and the Word was God." "And the Word became 
flesh, and dwelt among us." In the history of Christ, 
these two distinct and opposite characteristics are per- 
fectly sustained. There is not a word or an act imputed 
to Him in the whole circle of the Scriptures, that is 
unhuman, on the one hand, or ungodlike, on the other. 
In both relations, his character also is absolutely perfect. 
Not a solitary defect has ever been found in it. And 

33 



386 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

this is the only absolutely perfect character that has ever 
appeared in human form, or that humanity has ever 
imagined. Those who " see His glory," as revealed in 
these writings, see humanity in the perfection of beauty, 
and with equal distinctness, they " see the Father also." 
This character, in which such distinct and infinitely op- 
posite elements are so mysteriously and harmoniously 
blended is, in the first place, the theme of the ancient 
prophets. It is then in formal history portrayed by the 
four Evangelists, and is finally shadowed forth by other 
individuals in the epistles of the New Testament. In 
all these writings there is a perfect unity of conception 
in respect to the fundamental elements of the character, 
and no contradictory elements are found in the por- 
traitures drawn in them. This divine portraiture, and 
the absolute unity of conception in respect to it among 
those who drew it, are ascribed to one cause in the 
Scriptures, the inspiration of the Almighty in originat- 
ing the idea in the minds of the writers, and in guiding 
them in shadowing it forth. Now if the validity of this 
explanation be admitted, together with the reality of the 
character itself, then the existence of the idea, as it ap- 
pears in the writings under consideration, is accounted 
for. If this be denied, the following facts are themselves 
to be explained in consistency with such denial : (1.) 
the origin of the idea of God becoming incarnate for 
the object affirmed in the Scriptures ; (2.) the blending 
of the finite and infinite into one character of perfect 
unity, a unity in which humanity, on the one hand, and 
deity, on the other, are manifested in absolute perfection ; 
(3.) the existence of such an absolute identity of con- 
ception among so many individuals, individuals of such 
diverse capacities and attainments, and living at differ- 
ent periods of time,, and in such variety of .circumstances ; 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 387 

(4.) and finally, for the absence of all real contradiction 
on the one hand, and of absolute unity of conception on 
the other, in the portraitures which they have all drawn 
of Him. Now we affirm that these phenomena can 
never be accounted for, on the supposition that the char- 
acter under consideration is a fiction, and not a reality, 
or any other than a superhuman guidance vouchsafed to 
the sacred writers in portraying it. No individual, by 
reference to the original powers of the human mind, 
to the history of the race, or the circumstances of the 
times, or to all combined, can account for such phe- 
nomena on any such supposition, or any supposition 
other than the absolute validity of the idea of Christ, as 
developed in the Scriptures. The supposition that ten 
untutored savages had, without any concert among 
themselves, each written different parts of Newton's 
Principia, so that all their productions together consti- 
tute one great whole, complete in all its parts, and pos- 
sessing throughout a perfect unity of plan and arrange- 
ment, is far more credible than the dogma that the 
sacred writers first originated among themselves an 
absolute unity of idea in respect to such a character as 
that of Christ, and then preserved an equal identity, in 
all the portraitures which they all drew of it, when that 
character was a fiction, and not a reality, and they under 
no superhuman guidance in conceiving and portraying 
it. Let ten of the best writers of fiction in existence be 
selected, and let them be required to take some of the 
leading characters shadowed forth in the writings of 
Walter Scott, Di. Vernon, for example, to present them 
in relations and circumstances new and widely diversi- 
fied, and to preserve a perfect likeness to the original in 
the first instance, and an equally absolute unity of por- 
traiture among themselves in the next. Who does not 



388 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

know, that the accomplishment of such an object would 
be, even to such individuals, an absolute impossibility ? 
How then could a far greater number, mostly of unedu- 
cated minds widely diverse in capacities and attainments, 
living many of them in different times, and under equally 
diverse circumstances, attain to an absolute unity of 
conception and representation in respect to such a char- 
acter as that of Christ ? supposing that character to be 
a fiction, and that they were aided by no power out 
of themselves in conceiving and shadowing it forth ? 
Nothing short of infinity is impossible to humanity, 
even in its present condition, if such an object has 
already been accomplished by men in the circumstances 
in which the sacred writers lived and wrote. The char- 
acter of Christ, as drawn in the Scriptures, is, in itself, 
an absolute demonstration of its validity, on the one 
hand, and of the inspiration of the sacred writers, that 
is, of the Scriptures, on the other. . 

One additional consideration demands special atten- 
tion in this connection. The writers who have drawn 
the character of Christ, if what they have recorded of 
him is not true, were undeniably deliberate deceivers 
and impostors of the grossest character. Such persons, 
of all others, never did and never could thus conceive and 
portray such a character, supposing it not to have been 
real. Absolute unity of conception and representation 
could not have obtained among them. Above all, there 
never did and never could originate in such minds the 
conception of an absolutely perfect imaginary character. 
Bad men, impostors especially, would, with infallible 
certainty, have introduced somewhere into the ideal, 
some of the elements of their own depravity. That 
character, with no real original corresponding to it, was 
never conceived and portrayed by bad men, and it could 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 389 

not have originated with good men, and been presented 
as it stands revealed in the Scriptures, unless it did rep- 
resent a reality. 

3. The morality of Christianity as set forth by the 
sacred writers, next claims our attention. The follow- 
ing statements, the truth of which none will deny, will set 
this department of our subject in its true light before the 
reader's mind. (1.) The system of moral duty revealed 
in the Scriptures is absolutely complete and perfect in 
itself. There is no form of wrong actual or conceivable 
which its principles do not directly and specifically pro- 
hibit ; nor any form of moral righteousness which they 
do not as directly and specifically require. You cannot 
add to, or take from, this system of moral duty a single 
principle, without marring its completeness and perfec- 
tion. (2.) This system of moral duty is also equally 
universal and complete in its adaptations. There is not 
a condition or relation of humanity, or of any member 
of the human family, social, civil, or religious, in which 
the moral principles of Christianity are not an all- 
sufficient guide, as far as the question of duty is con- 
cerned, the only subject with which moral principles have 
to do. (3.) There is an absolutely perfect unity of concep- 
tion and representation among all the sacred writers, in 
setting this complete, perfect, and universal system of 
moral legislation before our minds. No contradictory 
principles appear in any of their writings. No one 
affirms a single principle which any other writer denies. 
A more perfect unity of conception and representation 
could not, by any possibility, have obtained, had these 
entire writings been the exclusive production of some 
one single mind which had an absolutely perfect knowl- 
edge of all conceivable and possible principles of moral 
legislation. (4.) No system of morality making any ap- 

33* 



390 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

proach whatever to any such forms of perfection appears 
among any people or nation in the age in which the 
sacred writers lived, or in any preceding or succeeding 
age, among any merely human productions. All such 
systems, on the other hand, are incomplete and self- 
contradictory in themselves, and in respect to no one 
principle is there a perfect unity of conception and rep- 
resentation, much less, in presenting a system of moral- 
ity itself. Occasionally, some individuals like Confucius, 
have announced some one principle of the gospel. In 
the same connection, however, other false principles 
are given which pervert and neutralize what of truth 
has been before uttered. Outside of the Scriptures, 
and without the circle of their divine illumination, all 
human productions on such high themes, present noth- 
ing but a total chaos of contradictions and absurdities. 
Within that circle absolute perfection and unity of con- 
ception and representation appear, and no form of con- 
tradiction whatever. In view of such undeniable facts, 
permit us to put the following questions : Whence this 
system of moral legislation? Whence this absolute 
unity of conception and representation among all these 
writers, in shadowing it forth, writers living at such 
wide intervals of time, and in such dissimilar circum- 
stances ? But one answer can be given to these ques- 
tions. Such completeness and perfection, such unity of 
conception and representation, on such a subject as 
this, is an absolute impossibility to any such number of 
men unguided by a power of and above themselves, in 
any age and in any circumstances, and above all, to the 
sacred writers, in their age and in their circumstances. 
The home of this law can be nowhere else than the 
bosom of God. It can be nothing else than the system 
of moral legislation which originally lay out before the 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 391 

infinite and eternal mind alone, and these writers, in 
shadowing it forth, could have been under no other 
guidance than the eternal spirit of that one infinite and 
eternal mind. We may safely challenge the world, to 
account for the existence of the system of moral legisla- 
tion, as set forth in the Scriptures, on any other suppo- 
sition. 

4. The manner in which the universal is blended with 
and expressed in the particular, is another form in which 
the finger of God is visible, in the Scriptures. While it 
is not possible for us to assign, as we have already said, 
definite limits to the possible attainments of humanity, 
there are some things which no individual hesitates to 
affirm to be absolutely impossible to it. We have no 
hesitation in affirming, for example, that no individuals 
giving special instruction to a particular people in one 
age, and in circumstances altogether special and pecu- 
liar, could embody a system of instruction, on such high 
and mysterious themes, as God, duty, and immortality, 
equally adapted to the entire necessities of universal 
humanity in all ages and in all circumstances. It is a 
universal fact that admits of no exception, that forms 
of thinking humanly derived, and adapted to one age, 
become wholly unadapted to the human mind in 
another and subsequent age. Humanity in its child- 
hood, cannot give forms of instruction, especially on the 
themes referred to, adapted to meet its entire necessities 
in the era of its manhood. Nothing can be more mani- 
fest than this, and nothing more absurd than the oppo- 
site idea. All forms of false religion, together with all 
forms of corrup t Christia nity, tend to one result, and 
have one common characteristic which infallibly marks 
their origin as human. They gave an expansion to the 
human mind, and imparted a renewed energy to the 
human powers in the era of their first development, and 



392 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

then tended to limit and debase its thinking and ac- 
tivity in every subsequent age. That which was light 
to humanity in one age becomes darkness to it in every 
subsequent age. To the truth of this statement there is, 
and from the nature of the case there can be, no exception. 
If the Bible is human in its origin, it will have this the 
invariable characteristic of all merely human produc- 
tions. Being local in its origin, and originated for one 
people, and for men in a particular age and in peculiar 
circumstances, it will be found to be imperfect and in- 
complete in its system of moral rules and principles, 
and fundamentally adapted, as the universal source of 
spiritual knowledge and instruction, to limit thought 
and retard human progress. If, on the other hand, it 
was written by the finger of God, and the pencillings of 
infinity are consequently upon it, we shall find the uni- 
versal blended and expressed in the particular, in the 
form above indicated ; we shall find writings, originally 
addressed to, and prepared for a primitive people of a 
particular age, and in circumstances equally special 
and peculiar, yet equally adapted to be the light 
of universal humanity, in all ages and in all circum- 
stances. 

What are the facts of the case ? In the first place, 
no writings ever were or can be more local and special 
in their original design and adaptations. They were 
addressed to one people, and always with special and 
almost exclusive reference to circumstances then exist- 
ing. The Old Testament is wholly Jewish in its origi- 
nal adaptations. The New Testament, the Epistles 
especially, are constituted of diverse productions called 
forth exclusively by circumstances occurring at the time. 
All is local, all addressed to men in a particular age, in 
circumstances altogether peculiar, and with reference to 
their special necessities in these circumstances. 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 393 

Now, while the Scriptures are thus local, thus special 
in their origin and original design and adaptations, they 
are equally adapted as the universal light of humanity 
in all ages and in all circumstances, and in all respects 
their adaptations are absolutely perfect. In all the cir- 
cumstances of their existence in every stage of progress, 
all men alike find the Scriptures as fully and perfectly 
adapted to all the peculiarities of their ever-varying con- 
dition, as if they had been written by the finger of God 
for that condition exclusively. 

The system of moral duty which they reveal, for 
example, is absolutely perfect and complete in the two 
respects under consideration, in its specific adaptation 
as a strictly universal system of moral rules and princi- 
ples for the people to whom they were originally ad- 
dressed, in their peculiar and special circumstances, and 
as a similar system for universal humanity in all ages 
and in all circumstances. Where is the defect in this 
system, in any respect actual or conceivable ? There 
is not a form of duty which does or can pertain to 
humanity in any circumstances, which is not most 
manifestly demanded, as duty, by the moral precepts of 
the Scriptures ; nor a form of wrong doing which is 
not with equal manifestness condemned by them. No 
defect ever has been, or ever can be, found in this sys- 
tem, as a system of universal moral legislation for 
universal humanity in all ages and in all circum- 
stances. 

Equally absolute is the universality of the adaptations 
of the Scriptures as sources of spiritual illumination. 
Every individual who reads them attentively finds his 
own character as specifically and minutely drawn out 
there, his own peculiar necessities as perfectly desig- 
nated, and all the exigencies of his entire existence as 



394 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

specifically provided for, as if the eye that guided the 
hands by which they were written, rested down upon him 
alone, and saw with unerring light through all depart- 
ments of his being, and with absolute omniscience com- 
prehended all the circumstances of the same. Here are 
writings prepared for, and addressed to men living two 
and three thousand years ago, to men in the infancy of 
the earth, and in reference to the peculiar specialities 
of their then condition. Yet in these same writings 
we can read with unerring certainty universal humanity 
in all ages and in every possible variety of condition. 
Was it the eye of man that guided the hands that pen- 
ned those mysterious writings ? Was it not the eye of 
Omniscience itself? 

We may mark the adaptation of the Scriptures as 
being equally perfect in respect to the law of human 
progress. Here are writings peculiarly local, individual, 
and specific, in their original design and adaptations, 
yet equally adapted to secure the endless development 
of universal humanity, in all ages and in all circum- 
stances. The Scriptures are as far in advance of 
humanity now as they were in the age in which they 
were written. The Infinite and Perfect, with all the 
truths and interests of immortality, are so pencilled out 
there, that under their influence the development of 
humanity cannot but be endless. There are two great 
volumes which God is affirmed to have written, the 
book of nature, and inspiration. Humanity has no 
more outgrown the one than it has the other. There 
are still and equally in each infinite depths unfathomed, 
and infinite heights unascended, and lengths and 
breadths to which humanity has never yet attained. 
In each volume alike the pencillings of the Infinite and 
the Perfect are equally visible. 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 395 

Now we affirm that the Scriptures themselves con- 
tain the most absolute demonstration of their divine 
original, — that it would be just as absurd to ascribe 
the production of one of the volumes above named to 
humanity unaided and unguided by power divine, as 
the other. If any thing is absolutely impossible to 
man, to any being of finite capacities, it is the blending 
of the universal in the particular in the manner in 
which they are blended in the Scriptures. 

5. The train of thought which we have thus far pur- 
sued, prepares us to consider another form of internal 
evidence peculiar to the Scriptures. I refer to what may 
be called the experimental argument. Man is conscious, 
and cannot but be conscious, of three fundamental 
facts in regard to himself — that he is, from the immuta- 
ble laws of his existence, a religious being, requiring 
some object of worship, and that nothing in that ob- 
ject but absolute infinity and perfection will or can 
meet the changeless wants of his nature, — that he is a 
fallen being, and needs subjection to a remedial system 
to restore him to moral purity and peace, — and, finally, 
that he is an endlessly progressive being, and needs to 
be in the presence of realities adapted to draw out his 
immortal powers, and cause them to expand towards 
absolute intellectual and moral beauty and perfection 
forever. In the centre of the human mind, also, is an 
immutable conviction, that there is a system of eternal 
truth perfectly adapted to meet, and to meet fully all 
these conscious necessities of man as a creature and a 
sinner, that no system of religion can be true which is 
not thus adapted to the wants of universal mind, and 
that that system cannot be false which is thus adapted. 
Now when the mind comes within the circle of the 
great realities revealed in the Scriptures, it has, and 



396 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

cannot but have, as they open more and more distinctly 
upon its vision, the absolute consciousness of their 
complete and perfect adaptation to meet fully the 
entire demands of its moral, spiritual, and intellectual 
nature, in all the respects above named. It knows, and 
cannot but know, that every principle of that nature is 
a lie, or that it is in the unveiled presence of nothing 
but eternal verities. Here is an object of worship pos- 
sessing the very forms of absolute beauty and perfec- 
tion which the immortal nature within demands or 
can demand in such object. Here, also, is a system of 
moral duty which meets with equal fulness the utmost 
demands of the conscience and moral nature of univer- 
sal humanity. Here, too, is a remedial system, which, 
as the mind cannot but be conscious, meets, with the 
same completeness and fulness, the immutable neces- 
sities of man, as a morally fallen and ruined creature 
of God. In the midst of the same revelations, also, 
the mind has an equally distinct consciousness, that it 
is in the presence of realities upon which its immortal 
powers may eternally expand towards infinite intel- 
lectual and moral beauty and perfection ; while in the 
example and character of Jesus Christ, it will ever be 
in the presence of an all-perfect example, in conformity 
to which its own character may ever take on the most 
complete forms of beauty and perfection of which its 
nature is, or ever will be, susceptible. Of this absolute 
correspondence between the great truths which Chris- 
tianity reveals, and the entire fundamental and immu- 
table demands of our immortal nature, the mind be- 
comes more and more distinctly conscious, the more it 
dwells upon them, and this immutable consciousness is 
the highest conceivable evidence that the mind is in 
the presence, not of sublime and fleeting fictions, but of 



THE BIBLE. INTERNAL EVIDENCE. 397 

eternal truth. Who can believe that our immortal na- 
ture, in all its laws and susceptibilities, is fundamentally 
adapted to the unreal and untrue ? and that a system of 
religion which thus meets those laws and susceptibili- 
ties, as we cannot but know that none others can, has, 
or can have, any other foundation than the rock of 
eternal truth ? " He that believeth hath the witness in 
himself," that is, in the conscious correspondence be- 
tween what is believed, and the immutable demands of 
his moral and spiritual nature, he has a continued testi- 
mony that what he believes, is and must be true, and this 
kind of testimony, which is exclusively peculiar to Chris- 
tianity, which is common to it, with no other religion, or 
system of sceptical or religious belief, is the highest 
possible evidence of its divine origin. That great fun- 
damental principle of science that for every demand of 
sentient existence, there exists a corresponding pro- 
vision, must be false, or a religion which thus com- 
pletely meets the moral and spiritual necessities of the 
universal mind must be true. 

6. There is one general remark bearing upon the argu- 
ment for the divine origin of Christianity, from internal 
evidence, which should not be passed by, without special 
notice. We refer to the manifest and undeniable marks 
of honesty and integrity which everywhere charac- 
terize these writings and their various authors, and that 
without exception. We know perfectly, that if they 
are thus honest, the Scriptures cannot be from man, but 
must have been given by inspiration of God. Yet in 
reading their multiplied writings, we cannot avoid the 
deep and immovable conviction, that we are in the 
presence of men of the purest and most unshaken in- 
tegrity. Not a solitary indication of any opposite char- 
acteristic in the writers themselves appears upon a single 

34 



398 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

page of the Bible. On the other hand, every thing 
which distinguishes and characterizes the most perfect 
forms of moral integrity everywhere appears. In fol- 
lowing these men we cannot escape the conviction 
that we are following men who really and truly 
think themselves leading us in the paths of truth and 
life, and nowhere else. We know that they cannot 
themselves be deceived in regard to the facts which 
they reveal, and are equally impressed with the convic- 
tion, that they are not and cannot be intentional de- 
ceivers. 

Thus it is, that the Bible itself is its own divinely 
attested witness, a witness whose testimony we cannot 
misapprehend, and who cannot lead us in the direction 
of the unreal or the untrue. There stands the Bible, 
reader, arrayed in all its own unrivalled, unearthly, 
and unapproachable grandeur and sublimity, encircled 
everywhere with external divinely attested witnesses of 
its divine origin, witnesses which by no possibility can 
thus stand around any thing which is unreal or untrue. 
There stands the Bible too, with its own all-perfect, all- 
overshadowing revelations lifting their sublime and 
awe-inspiring summits infinitely above the actual or 
possible reach of all human productions. " Walk about 
our Zion, tell her towers, mark well her bulwarks, and 
consider her palaces," and then say, if you will risk your 
eternity upon the supposition, that the Bible is a fiction, 
that its religion is any thing else than the rock of eter- 
nal truth. 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 399 



CHAPTER IV. 

OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 

Notwithstanding the overwhelming weight of the 
evidence in favor of the divine origin of Christianity, 
objections to the supposition of such an origin exist, to 
a considerable extent, in the public mind, objections 
which induce not a few to subject themselves to the 
cold and freezing moral atmosphere of infidelity, and 
which hold a still greater number of individuals in such 
doubt and uncertainty on the subject, as to prevent their 
giving any serious attention to the great questions 
which hang around that of their own immortality. 
Our discussions would, therefore, be manifestly defec- 
tive, in their adaptations to meet the wants of the pub- 
lic mind, were these objections passed by unheeded. Of 
course, we shall not be expected to meet, or specify 
every difficulty which is floating on the surface of 
society, but only such as have the greatest weight, and 
which involve in their destruction that of all the others. 

In approaching this subject intelligently, the question 
first to be raised and decided, pertains to the nature of 
these objections, and to that department of the sacred 
volume against which they are adduced. In answering 
this inquiry, we remark : — 

1. That no one objects to the divine origin of Chris- 
tianity, on the ground that its claims are defective, so 
far as the validity of the argument based upon the 
attestation of miracles is concerned. No one pretends, 
that if we admit the reality of the great facts adduced 
by Christians, in attestation of this truth, that they are 
not real miraculous interpretations of creative power, 



400 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

and as such place the known and undeniable seal of the 
incorruptible and eternal God upon the Bible, as his 
own all-authoritative revelation to man. Nor has any 
one ever shown, that the evidence in favor of the actual 
occurrence of these divine attestations is not valid, is 
not what Christians claim it to be, a kind of evidence 
which never does and never can deceive, which never 
does and never can stand around what is unreal or un- 
true, and affirm its existence and occurrence. So far 
the Christian argument is really unassailed and truly 
unassailable. 

2. Nor is the objection based upon any want of com- 
pleteness or force in the Christian argument, as far as 
the evidence from prophecy is concerned. No one will 
attempt to account for the prophetic predictions found 
in the Bible, by a reference to any form of foresight pos- 
sible to man. Nor will he pretend to weaken or modify 
the argument, by finding a single instance of failure in 
the fulfilment of those predictions, nor by adducing sim- 
ilar or analogous instances of similar predictions sim- 
ilarly fulfilled, predictions which originated with man. 
Nor will he attempt to account for these predictions on 
any other principle than that their origin is from 
the inspiration of the spirit of God. Here undeni- 
ably the Christian argument is perfect and complete in 
all its parts, and perfectly fundamental in its bearings 
upon the question at issue. We believe that the world 
is yet to hear, for the first time, of an objection to the 
validity of the Christian argument, by a formal attempt 
upon the prophecies of Scripture, in any of the forms 
above named, or in any scientific form whatever. 

3. Nor does the objection lie against the complete- 
ness and force of the Christian argument from internal 
evidence in any of the forms in which it has been pre- 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 401 

sented to your consideration. No one, we may safely 
assume, will deny or disprove the facts stated, namely, 
the perfection of the character of God, and of Christ, as 
developed in the Scriptures, the completeness and per- 
fection of the system of moral duty there presented, nor 
the absolute unity of conception and representation 
which obtains among the sacred writers on these high 
themes. -Nor can the absolute adaptations of Chris- 
tianity as a universal religion for humanity, in all ages 
and under all circumstances, be objected against, nor 
the absolute unity of conception and representation 
among the sacred writers in regard to it be denied. 
Equally undeniable is the fact of the blending of the 
universal in the particular in the sense and forms ex- 
plained in the last chapter, namely, the fact, that forms 
of instruction given to men in the infancy of the race, 
and in the lowest stages of mental development, em- 
body and reveal a system of moral legislation abso- 
lutely complete and perfect in itself, and equally ade- 
quate as such a system, to the entire necessities of 
universal humanity in all ages and in all circumstances 
and relations, social, civil, and religious, together with 
a religion equally complete and perfect in itself, and 
equally universal and absolute in its adaptations. Nor 
can it be shown that such perfection of thought on such 
high themes, and such unity of conception and represen- 
tation in regard to it, among so many writers thus cir- 
cumstanced, is not infinitely above the possible reach 
of so many minds unaided and uncontrolled by some 
other intelligence out of and above themselves, or in any 
circumstances actual or conceivable, much less, in the 
circumstances in which these writings were originated. 
Equally undeniable is the fact, that the intelligence 
which originated these wonderful writings did possess 

34* 



402 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

a perfect omniscience in regard to God on the one hand, 
and the character, nature, and wants of man on the 
other; in other words, that "all Scripture must have 
been given by inspiration of God." Nor can it be ob- 
jected, finally, that the sincerity and integrity of the.se 
writers is for a moment to be called in doubt. Nor can 
it be shown how that such integrity can have existed 
in them, and the facts to the reality of which they give 
testimony never have occurred. In all these respects 
there is undeniably no want of completeness or force 
in the Christian argument, and against none of those 
impregnable fortresses which lift their awful summits 
around " the glorious gospel of the blessed God," have 
its enemies ever arrayed their objections, nor will they 
ever dare to do it. 

4. While the enemies of Christianity have never met 
the Christian argument, in any of the forms above 
stated, nor formally arrayed their objections against it, 
they have never shown how it is possible, that a religion 
sustained by such evidence, external and internal, can 
be false, can be any thing else than it claims to be, of 
divine origin and authority. They do not, and dare not 
meet the evidence, on the one hand, nor can they de- 
monstrate the want of necessary connection between it, 
and the conclusion based upon it, on the other. So far 
Christianity stands out before the world unassailed and 
unassailable. Every hostile argument falling upon this 
adamantine rock, the evidence of Christianity derived 
from the sources under consideration, is broken, and 
every objection upon which that evidence falls, is, by 
its overwhelming and crushing weight, ground to pow- 
der. 

5. Nor will any individuals lay the objections which * 
they urge against the claims of Christianity, by the 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 403 

side of all the forms of evidence actually existing in 
favor of those claims, and then affirm, as the result of 
an intelligent comparison, that in the judgment of 
honest and enlightened men, those objections ought to 
outweigh that evidence. Weighed distinctly in the 
balance against that evidence, they undeniably have no 
weight or substance whatever. 

Let us now advance to a direct consideration of 
these objections, and see what they are. Like the argu- 
ment in favor of the divine origin of Christianity, they 
divide themselves into two classes, external and inter- 
nal. We will consider them under these two divisions. 
Of the first class, the following only are worthy of 
notice : — 



OBJECTIONS RELATIVE TO EXTERNAL EVIDENCE. 

1. The first that I notice is the celebrated objection 
raised by David Hume against the possibility of prov- 
ing the actual occurrence of miracles by evidence. The 
argument may be thus stated, and we give it in all its 
force. We can only reason on this subject from what 
we know to be true from experience, that is, from our 
own personal knowledge of facts. " It is contrary to 
experience that a miracle should be true, but not con- 
trary to experience that testimony should be false." 
Miracles, therefore, cannot be established by testimony. 
Now this argument bears upon the face of it, the gross- 
est error conceivable, in the assertion of facts of experi- 
ence. It does accord with experience, that some kinds 
of testimony should be false ; while there are other 
kinds which, from experience and observation, we 
know absolutely, never does and never can prove false ; 
and that, without exception, is the very kind which 



404 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

affirms the reality of the Christian miracles. The ex- 
perience of man, from the creation to the present hour, 
cannot designate a single instance in which this kind 
of testimony has ever proved false. The objection rests 
wholly upon an assumption known absolutely to be 
false. No more, therefore, need be said in regard to it. 
2. The objection under consideration exists in the 
popular mind, at the present time, in a form somewhat 
different to that above stated, a form in which the argu- 
ment from miracles is intuitively ignored, as unworthy 
of the regard of thinking men, in this enlightened and 
progressive age. The objection may be thus stated. 
All events in the universe, past, present, and future, 
occur through the exclusive action of natural laws, and 
can occur from no other cause. Miracles, which imply 
the suspension of such laws, and the production of 
effects by an interposition of creative power out of and 
above nature, and not through or in accordance with 
natural law, is a natural impossibility, and therefore 
incapable of being proved by any degree of evidence 
whatever. Hence it is assumed, that the Christian 
miracles being absurd, and impossible in themselves, 
are unworthy of our regard or investigation. In reply 
to this objection we would invite special attention to 
the following observations : (1.) The objection rests 
upon a mere assumption, which has its exclusive basis 
in sheer ignorance and nothing else, an assumption un- 
sustajned by the least shadow of evidence whatever. 
Let us put the following questions to the objector : 
How do you, or how can you know, that all events past, 
present, and future, occur, and must occur, through the ex- 
clusive action of natural laws ? Where is your proof of 
the truth of such a principle, — a principle whose truth 
is neither self-evident, nor affirmed by a solitary fact in 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 405 

the wide universe. Because some events, all if you 
please, which fall under your immediate observation, 
occur through and in accordance with such laws, what 
proof is that, what shadow of evidence does it afford, 
that no event ever did, or ever will or can occur but 
through such laws ? (2.) This assumption, as we have 
already seen, is falsified by the most absolute demon- 
strations of natural science itself. Every demonstration 
of such science must be held as utterly false, as we have 
already seen, if creation, from its commencement to its 
final consummation, has not been exclusively through 
the direct and immediate, that is, miraculous interposi- 
tion of creative power, a power out of and above nature, 
and itself originating, sustaining, and controlling natu- 
ral law. (3.) The evidence which affirms the reality of 
the Christian miracles is a kind of evidence which, as 
we have seen, never does, and never can prove false. It 
has all the force of natural law. It will not do, reader, to 
ignore such evidence, and such demonstrations as these, 
and attempt to supplant them by mere assumption not 
self-evidently true, and unsustained by the least shadow 
of evidence whatever. 

3. We now refer to an objection which appears in 
the form of a general assumption, in regard to all the 
great events recorded in Scripture. All the statements 
of Scripture pertaining to the leading events there 
recorded, are affirmed to be altogether of a mythical, 
that is, fabulous character, having their derivation from, 
and bearing but a remote resemblance to, ancient 
events of no miraculous character whatever. Jesus 
Christ himself is also affirmed to be not a real his- 
torical, but a mythical or fabulous character. So of 
'• the mighty works " ascribed to him, the New Testa- 
ment record of him and his works bearing no more 



406 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

resemblance to him as he was, and to the real acts of 
his life, than the fabled legends in regard to Hercules 
do to the real acts of his life. Upon this assumption, 
the leading forms of infidelity, as represented in the 
writings of such men as Strauss, in Germany, and 
Theodore Parker of this country, are based, and must 
stand or fall with that assumption. In reply to this 
objection, we remark, (1.) That if we admit its va- 
lidity, the argument from prophecy and internal evi- 
dence remains in all its force, unassailable and unas- 
sailed, and this alone establishes most absolutely the 
divine origin of Christianity. (2.) This objection has 
its basis in a mere assumption, and nothing else, an 
assumption unsustained by the least shadow of evi- 
dence, of any kind whatever. The only evidence that 
we have of its truth is simply this, and nothing more, 
namely, Mr. Strauss and Mr. Parker boldly affirm that 
it is so, and affirm this without any positive evidence 
whatever to sustain their assertions, and that while 
their assertions are contradicted by the most weighty 
and valid evidence conceivable. (3.) All the great 
events of inspiration, as narrated by the sacred writers, 
have, in all conceivable and possible respects, abso- 
lutely none of the characteristics which distinguish 
fables from real facts, on the one hand, and every char- 
acteristic which distinguishes real facts from fables, on 
the other. Fabulous statements relate, without excep- 
tion, either, like the stories of Hercules, to events of a 
remote antiquity, events seen by those who first recorded 
them through the veil of the most obscure tradition, a 
veil, also, which permits the narrators themselves to 
impart any form, and to put any coloring upon them 
they please, or to events, like the fabled ascent of Mo- 
hammed to heaven, professedly witnessed only by those 
said to have performed them, and whe consequently 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 407 

had the highest motives to exaggerate and deceive. On 
the other hand, all the great events narrated in the 
Bible are affirmed to have occurred at definite periods 
in the history of the peoples among whom they oc- 
curred, and that with the eye of nations upon them 
when they took place, the events themselves being, as 
we have seen, of such a character that those present 
at the time could by no possibility have been deceived, 
in regard to the fact of their occurrence or non-ocsur- 
rence. Moreover, the historical records of those events 
were written at the time of their occurrence, and in 
their very midst, or within the memory of those who 
were direct and original witnesses of their occurrence, 
and have, from that time to this, remained as the uni- 
versally authenticated and absolutely reliable historical 
records of the peoples among whom they occurred. 
Here we have the only fundamental characteristics 
which distinguish real valid history from that which is 
mythical and fabulous, and real facts from fables ; and 
we must admit the validity of such tests, or pronounce 
all history of every kind to be nothing but fable. 

All will admit, also, that if Jesus Christ be a real, 
and not a mythical character, and that if the events 
attributed to him in the New Testament are the real 
scenes and acts of his life, all the great events narrated 
in the entire Scriptures are real facts, and not fables. 
On this subject, permit us to invite very special atten- 
tion to the following statements, statements the truth 
of which none will deny : (1.) No mythic or fabulous 
character is or can be the subject of such prophetic 
predictions as are recorded of Jesus Christ, in the Old 
Testament, the very date of his death, for example, 
being fixed more than five hundred years prior to his 
birth. (2.) No mythical or fabulous character has full 



408 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

historical records of the great events of his life, events 
of the highest conceivable public interest and notoriety, 
and written within the memory of, and published, at 
the time, in the midst of the millions to whom those 
events were personally known, as is true of the histories 
of Christ given »by the four evangelists, and all this, 
while these very records have, from that time to this, 
been universally received as containing nothing but 
veritable facts. (3.) The historical records of no myth- 
ical character ever were or can be verified by such 
external testimony as that which stands around those 
of the four Evangelists in respect to Jesus Christ. The 
testimony of the Jewish nation, and of Jewish histo- 
rians, we have already considered. Permit us here to 
introduce a single Pagan witness, Tacitus, whose history, 
from which our citation is taken, was written but about 
thirty years after the death of Christ. According to 
this historian, Nero, to avert from himself the infamy 
of having set fire to Rome, accused Christians of having 
done the deed, and inflicted on them the most cruel 
tortures. " With this view," he says, " he inflicted the 
most exquisite tortures on those men, who, under the 
vulgar appellation of Christians, were already branded 
with deserved infamy. They derived their name and 
origin from Christ, who, in the reign of Tiberius, had 
suffered death by the sentence of the procurator Pontius 
Pilate." No fabulous statements ever had such confir- 
mations as these. (4.) All fabulous characters, we remark 
finally, are almost exclusively creations of the imagina- 
tion. But that of Christ, as we have most abundantly 
shown already, is, when we consider its absolute per- 
fection, the elements blended into it, and the unity of 
conception and representation among the sacred writers 
in respect to it, infinitely above the possible reach of 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 409 

ithe imagination, in any age, much less in that in which 
this divine portraiture was drawn, and among such 
writers as drew it. No reference to the human imagi- 
nation, or to any of the powers of the human mind, or 
to all combined, nor to the opinions, expectations, or 
wants of that age, can account for the mere conception 
of the character of Christ, as drawn by the sacred 
writers. To what hopeless straits must infidelity be 
driven, when its last refuge is the assumption, — an as- 
sumption unsustained by the least shadow of evidence, 
and affirmed to be false by all the tests and principles 
which do or can distinguish facts from fables, — when 
its last refuge and only hope, we say, is the assumption 
that the history of Christ is a fiction. 



OBJECTIONS BASED UPON WHAT IS FOUND IN THE BIBLE 
ITSELF. 

We now turn to a consideration of the second class 
of objections, those based upon what is asserted to be 
found in the Scriptures themselves. These objections, 
as we shall see, have no reference to any defect in the 
morality of Christianity, as far as its principles are ap- 
plicable to us, to its want of adaptation to man's 
necessities as a sinner, or to any thing defective in the 
external or internal evidence, as developed in our pre- 
vious investigations. All pertain to certain affirmed 
dispensations of Providence in regard to Jews and 
Pagans, to facts asserted on divine authority, as having 
occurred, to certain precepts given to the Jews at that 
time, and to the application of certain moral principles 
to them in their peculiar circumstances. Now before 
any such objections can be urged, we must be certain 
of the following facts : (1.) That we rightly under- 

35 



410 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

stand the "-record itself. Any objections based upon a 
misapprehension of the sacred text, exposes the igno- 
rance of the objector, and not the error of the Bible. 
(2.) That we rightly understand all the circumstances 
of the case. A failure here, may again only expose our 
ignorance and error, instead of proving the Bible not to 
be the word of God. (3.) That we rightly understand 
and interpret the end really and truly aimed at, in the 
dispensations objected against. Without such knowl- 
edge, an act may appear to us very objectionable, which, 
when seen in the light of this end will, and may ap- 
pear as a means most wisely adapted to its full and 
complete realization, and therefore assume the aspect 
of the most pure and perfect wisdom and benevolence. 

These objections, we would also remark, refer, for the 
most part, to what is found in the Old Testament. In 
regard to the character of this entire dispensation, we 
have the opinion of one, let us say, whose opinion is 
entitled to some consideration, to say the least, and 
should be well pondered, before we commit ourselves 
on the subject, "lest haply we should be found fighting 
against God." Jesus Christ has affirmed absolutely, 
that this entire dispensation, with all its real principles 
and teachings, has its exclusive basis in the law of ab- 
solute benevolence and rectitude : " On these two com- 
mandments hang all the law and the prophets," that is, 
the entire ancient Scriptures, with all their asserted 
divine acts, principles, and precepts. What must we 
think of the professions of men, who affirm themselves 
to agree with whatever Jesus Christ taught, and yet ob- 
ject fundamentally against what he asserts to be per- 
fect? We will now proceed to consider the objections 
referred to : — 

1. Not a few object to the claims of Christianity, on 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWEKED. 411 

account of the doctrine of retribution, as set forth in 
the Scriptures. On this subject, permit us barely to 
hint the following suggestions : (1.) Remember that 
you are an interested party, and are very liable to be 
misled by a state of mind which has two wrong ele- 
ments in it, — an unwillingness to meet the require- 
ments of Scripture, though seconded by the behests of 
your own conscience on the subject, — and in that state 
to entertain the idea, that such unwillingness must be 
connected with the consequences revealed in the Scrip- 
tures. (2.) It looks somewhat like presumption in us, 
to place difficulties arising in our minds on such a sub- 
ject against the infinite weight of evidence actually 
existing, in favor of the divine origin of Christianity, 
and, consequently, in favor of the truth, that these very 
retributions, and these alone, measure the actual desert 
of sin, as seen by that infinite and eternal mind, that 
cannot err in judgment. (3.) Those who have most 
profoundly studied the laws and principles of their own 
moral nature, the claims of God, and of the law of 
duty, as really revealed in the universal conscience, 
have come to the united conviction, that these very 
retributions alone measure the actual deserts of sin. 
(4.) The most beautiful and perfect forms of moral vir- 
tue that have ever appeared on earth, have been gen- 
erated under these very truths, and others of a kindred 
character revealed in the Scriptures. (5.) Separated 
from these very truths, Christianity, as a matter-of-fact, 
is divested of all really morally renovating and reforma- 
tory power. With these considerations, we leave the 
subject upon the conscience of the reader. 

2. Others object to the claims of Christianity, on 
account of the doctrine of atonement as set forth in the 
Scriptures. On this point, also, we would barely drop 



412 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the following suggestions : (1.) If the doctrine of 
retribution as above indicated is true, a doctrine whose 
truth cannot be invalidated, that of atonement must be 
true, or there is no redemption for man. (2.) The idea 
of atonement, instead of being contrary to reason, as 
many suppose, is, in fact, the great leading idea that 
lies upon the conscience of universal humanity, being 
the greatest element of all religions on earth, that of false 
forms of Christianity excepted. The presence and per- 
vading influence of this idea is manifest in the sacri- 
fices which characterize all these religions. Now an 
idea so universal as this must, as the great philosopher 
Coleridge affirms, have been imparted to man by 
inspiration, or be in itself so accordant with reason, as 
to have all the force of a truth of revelation. (3.) In 
Jesus Christ, this idea which thus lies upon the con- 
science, and there indicates a fundamental want of 
universal humanity, is fully realized. . (4.) This doctrine 
thus realized, and this alone, perfectly meets the con- 
scious necessities of universal mind when it has once 
attained to a consciousness of its actual condition 
as under sin. Of the truth of this statement, no one 
under the consciousness referred to, can doubt any 
more than man can doubt his own existence. (5.) It 
is only through an implicit faith in the doctrine of retri- 
bution on the one hand, and atonement as realized 
in Christ on the other, that the most perfect forms 
of moral virtue that ever appeared on earth, have 
been generated. (6.) Separate these two doctrines 
from Christianity, and you extract from it all its power 
really and truly to renovate and to bless fallen human- 
ity. We stop not to argue the truth of these state- 
ments. To all who read these facts as they are, their 
truth is self-affirmed. 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 413 

3. But a fundamental objection is, in the judgment 
of some, found in the affirmed divine dispensations in 
the indiscriminate destruction of the inhabitants of 
Canaan, on the one hand, and their being supplanted 
by the Israelites, on the other. To form a right judg- 
ment of this, or any other acts of providence, we must 
first of all know the end for which the thing is done, 
and its adaptation as a means to that end. The fact 
that any thing is done, as we have the highest conceiv- 
able evidence that the transaction under consideration 
was under the immediate direction and bidding of 
Jehovah himself, affords some presumption, to say the 
least, that the thing done was a wisely adapted means 
to a perfectly benevolent end, and should render crea- 
tures like us, at this distance of time, and ignorant as 
we must be of all the reasons for the occurrence, to be 
slow in questioning the Almighty on the wisdom and 
rectitude of his dispensations. We need to be re- 
minded that there is such a thing as impious presump- 
tion, which may ultimately bring upon those who per- 
petrate it, the terrible rebuke of God himself. We are 
not left at all in the dark, however, in regard to the end 
for which the transaction under consideration was 
ordered, and have some facilities for judging of its 
adaptations as a means to that end. The end was 
nothing more nor less than the destruction of idolatry 
among all nations, together with the numberless crimes 
and abominations everywhere existing and perpetrated 
under its influence, and the reintroduction of the lost 
knowledge and worship of the only living and true God, 
together with all the virtues and external blessings 
necessarily resulting from that knowledge and worship. 
" That my name might be declared throughout all the 
earth," " that the living may know that the Most High 

35* 



414 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

ruleth in the kingdom of men." This was the exclu- 
sive end proposed in this whole transaction. That we 
may understand its adaptation as a means to this end, 
consider the following undeniable facts : (1.) Among 
all nations, the knowledge and worship of the true God 
was supplanted by those of devils, whose character, 
without exception, was such, that none could worship 
them, without imbibing degrees and forms of moral 
depravity and debasement utterly impossible to human- 
ity under any other influences. (2.) This system of 
devil-worship was attended everywhere with the most 
horrid and debasing rites of which we can possibly 
form a conception. Drunkenness, debauchery, sodomy, 
degrading bestiality, infanticide, and all forms of 
human sacrifices, are terms which but faintly indicate 
the nameless abominations which constituted the fun- 
damental elements of heathen rites and worship in all 
parts of the earth. By a law of the empire, for exam- 
ple, every matron in Babylon was required to prostitute 
herself at least once to a stranger in a heathen temple. 
Everywhere the temples themselves were the very cen- 
tres of such monstrous immoralities. (3.) Under this 
system all forms of domestic, social, civil, and religious 
virtue had hopelessly disappeared. The world had be- 
come an aceldema, a visible hell, whose moral aspect 
could fully satisfy the utmost wish of the prince of 
darkness himself. (4.) Under the influences then pre- 
vailing, and without the most signal and startling inter- 
positions of God himself, there was no hope for the 
better ; but humanity was hopelessly advancing towards 
worse and worse forms of moral corruption and death. 
(5.) The land of Canaan was the centre and focus of 
all these abominations, the common sewer into which 
all that was degrading and debasing" in heathenism 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 415 

itself seemed to run, and there attain its utmost con- 
summation. (6.) To understand the whole subject, 
also, it should be remembered, that every particular 
nation had its own guardian divinities, under whose 
protection it was supposed that all national interests 
were safe. All parts of nature, also the earth, the air, 
the ocean, the sun, moon, and stars, were supposed 
to be under the control of particular deities. Under 
such circumstances, what is the Most High affirmed 
to have done ? Did he leave humanity to hopeless 
debasement and ruin ? And what if he did destroy 
a nation already lost to all hope of moral renovation, 
and destroy that nation to save a world ? Who will 
say that God had not a right to do it, and that the 
means he did adopt were not best adapted to the great 
end referred to ? 

What were the means which the Most High is 
affirmed in Scripture to have adopted to realize this 
end ? The following : — 

(1.) He interposes by the most signal judgments upon 
old Egypt, for its most degrading forms of heathenism, 
and universal moral debasement consequent thereon, 
every judgment being a specific assault upon the relig- 
ious system then and there prevailing, and most wisely 
adapted to secure its destruction. (2.) He took from 
the midst of that nation a people prepared in the best 
manner possible under the circumstances, and himself 
went visibly before them, in a pillar of fire by night and 
of cloud by day, opening a passage for them through the 
Red Sea, at Sinai, amid the most impressive manifesta- 
tions conceivable, giving them " a fiery law " which pro- 
hibited idolatry in all its forms, and that together with 
the purest conceivable system of morality, domestic, 
social, civil, and religious. After feeding them miracu- 



416 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

lously forty years in the wilderness, and by every possi- 
ble means preparing them for their high mission, he 
visibly led them into the centre of the moral abomina- 
tions of desolation of the whole earth, and there com- 
manded the utter extermination of the people who 
upheld and perpetrated them, uniting his own visible 
and all-impressive interpositions for the accomplishment 
of that command, and all this for one end, to rebuke the 
world for its crimes, restore to man the knowledge of 
truth indispensable to his moral restoration, and save 
lost humanity from hopeless debasement and ruin. (3.) 
As a still further means to the great end before us, he 
hung over his own people, after their settlement in 
Canaan, and that before all nations, the all-impressive 
enunciation, that while they practised the pure virtues 
which their divine religion required, they should be the 
strongest, and that when they should apostatize towards 
the abominations of the heathen around them, they 
should be the weakest of all the nations of the earth, 
and become subject to signal judgments, such as should 
descend upon no other people, an enunciation which 
God has most signally verified. (4.) Finally, he hung 
over all the earth the all-impressive and startling predic- 
tions, that he would then proceed to shake all nations, 
dashing them to pieces as the potter's vessel, till " the 
living should know that the Most High ruleth in the 
kingdom of men," and should turn from the worship of 
devils, and the practice of corresponding abominations, 
to serve the only living and true God, and to the prac- 
tice of the virtues which he requires, and the well-being 
of universal humanity demands, predictions which, as 
we have seen, he has most impressively fulfilled. 

Now we affirm, that in this whole procedure, the end 
aimed at is worthy of infinite wisdom and love, and the 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 417 

means most wisely adapted to the realization of that 
end. Nothing but the most startling judgments could 
at all have broke the slumbers of moral death which 
pressed upon ruined humanity. Unless God had ap- 
peared as he did, at the head of some one nation, he 
could not effectually have broken the power of national 
idolatry, as it everywhere existed at the time. All the 
judgments inflicted through that nation, under the di- 
vine direction, were called for in themselves, and wisely 
adapted to the end for which they were ordered. The 
indiscriminate destruction of the people among whom 
all these abominations centered, was the wisest arrange- 
ment that could have been adopted at the time, and 
only adequate to make the proper impression upon the 
world of God's sentiments and purposes in regard to the 
abominations for which that destruction was ordered, 
judgments withheld "till the iniquity of that people 
was full." Thus to every enlightened and candid mind, 
God's eternal government must stand approved. 

4. We are now prepared to understand that great 
event so often held up against the Bible, the standing still 
of the sun and moon at the bidding of Joshua in the val- 
ley of Gibeon. The impiety and moral presumption 
manifest in the form in which this transaction is often 
held before the public, deserves the deepest reprobation 
of the universe, namely, that all this was done to enable 
one nation to murder the innocent and feeble inhabi- 
tants of another, and then seize upon their possessions. 
Had not the very event, let us say, actually occurred, 
heathenism, in all its forms, would not have received a 
needful rebuke. According to its teachings, as held the 
world over, one class of divinities reigned over the earth, 
and others presided over the movements of the heavenly 
bodies. God, while asserting, before all nations, his 



418 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

own exclusive and all-presiding divinity, and while 
before all he is thundering forth his judgments upon 
men for having other Gods before him, in testimony of 
his own exclusive dominion over the entire universe, 
stops the sun and moon and stars in their courses. 
This event is just as possible to God, as to any other, 
and how adapted to startle and arouse all nations on 
earth, and arrest them in their downward course of 
crime and debasements ! Nothing else could have been 
so impressive a revelation to the nations of God him- 
self, to the exclusion of all others before him, under the 
circumstances. 

5. The transactions recorded in Numbers 22 : 22, of 
Balaam, is not unfrequently held up to ridicule, as too 
absurd in itself for the supposition that it is true, or 
occurred under the direction of God. In regard to this 
transaction, we deem it important to make simply the 
following observations : (1.) It is well known, that necro- 
mancy, soothsaying, etc., attended as they were by ven- 
triloquism and other kindred sources of deception, were 
among the most powerful of all the sources of influence 
which heathenism held over the human mind, and that 
men who excelled in these arts, stood preeminent above- 
all others in public estimation. (2.) Of all men of this 
class, Balaam, in the estimation of all surrounding 
nations, was most eminent. So eminent was he, that 
no heathen doubted that nothing could avert the bless- 
ing or curse pronounced by him upon individuals or 
nations. (3.) For this man to be brought under an in- 
fluence through which he should, in the presence of all 
surrounding nations, proclaim the God of Israel to be 
the only living and true God, and the utter vanity 
and impotence in his presence of this great central 
power of heathenism, was to strike the heaviest pos- 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 419 

sible blow against this system of error and corruption 
and in favor of the truth that, by any possibility, could 
have been struck. (4.) Every event here recorded as 
occurring prior to the appearance of this preeminent 
prophet of heathenism on Nebo, where, in the presence 
of surrounding nations, and in the most impressive cir- 
cumstances conceivable, he proclaims the being, perfec- 
tions, and all-presiding agency of one God, the God of 
Israel, and the utter vanity and impotency, in his pres- 
ence, of heathenism, with all its enchantments and 
lies, all events recorded as having occurred prior to this, 
were ordered, we say, as a means to this one great end, 
and no means conceivable could be more perfectly 
adapted to that end. At first, Balaam is confounded 
by the message from Balak to come and " curse Israel." 
Then comes a solemn prohibition against his comply- 
ing with the request. Subsequently, he receives per- 
mission to go, but under the most solemn charge to say 
nothing whatever but what God should communicate 
to him. To secure this result what immediately fol- 
lowed was ordered. On his way the prophet is first 
startled by unheard of, and to him unaccountable acts 
in the brute on which he rode. Then his madness is 
rebuked by a voice coming to him from the mouth of 
"the dumb animal," a voice whose existence he could 
account for, by a reference to no acts of ventriloquism 
which he had been accustomed to practise. Then an 
angel of God with a drawn sword in his hand, sud- 
denly stands revealed to the terror-stricken necromancer. 
When prostrate upon the ground, he is told to go on 
his journey, but to say nothing but what God should 
bid him say. Thus the great end sought was realized. 
Taken as a whole, we have here one of the sublimest 
and most impressive scenes on record. So it must ap- 
pear to every candid and well-informed mind. 



420 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

6. The standing objection of infidelity next claims 
our attention. In Deut. 15 : 21, the Israelites, it is said, 
while they are prohibited themselves eating the flesh of 
animals dying of disease, " that which dieth of itself," 
they are permitted to give this diseased and tainted 
meat to strangers, and to sell the same " unto an alien." 
Here is something which we know never did and never 
could come from God. Yet it stands in such connec- 
tion with other Scriptures that they must stand or fall 
with it. In reply, we would simply add, that in the 
original there is no word or phrase that in any form 
answers to the phrase " that which dieth of itself," or 
which makes any approach whatever to any such mean- 
ing. . It is a single word, a noun, which receives this 
rendering, " that which dieth of itself," a word which 
means simply a carcase, a dead body of any kind, and 
is so rendered in Hebrew lexicons. Literally under- 
stood, the Jew is here prohibited eating meat of any 
kind. Happily we are not kept in the dark in regard 
to the kind of flesh referred to. In Exodus 22 : 31, 
the Jew, for purely ceremonial reasons, is prohibited 
eating the flesh of any animal that has been " torn 
(killed) by a wild beast." In Lev. 7 : 24, and 17 : 15, 
he is prohibited eating " that which dieth of itself, or 
that is torn by wild beasts." The original literally 
and truly rendered is, a carcase, namely, that which is 
torn by wild beasts, the object of the second clause 
being to define and limit the meaning of the first. In 
these passages the Jew is told what he may not do with 
such kind of meat. In Deut. 15: 21, he is told what 
he may do with it, the kind of carcase referred to hav- 
ing been defined, the one word simply is used. For 
ceremonial reasons exclusively, the Jew was not per- 
mitted to eat such flesh himself. As -it was just as 



THE BIBLE. OBJECTIONS ANSWERED. 421 

wholesome in itself as any other, however, he was told 
that he might give it to the stranger, or sell it to the 
alien ; as benevolent a precept as could have been given. 
It is in this light exclusively that that dispensation 
throughout appears, when rightly comprehended. There 
is nothing in it of which God has reason to be ashamed, 
or which Christ, with absolute truth, could not affirm to 
have been, in the circumstances, an infallible applica- 
tion and embodiment of the law of perfect rectitude and 
benevolence. For ourselves, when we hear individuals 
scoffing at that sacred dispensation, or impeaching the 
character of God as therein revealed, we are free to say, 
that we entertain little respect for their moral judg- 
ments, or moral character ; for nothing but the absence 
of moral principle in us, can induce a want of apprecia- 
tion of what is wise in legislation, perfect in morals, 
and sublimely venerable in truth. 

We are obliged, for want of space, to omit one entire 
chapter, a chapter on the genuineness and authenticity of 
the Scriptures. We know whereof we affirm, and what 
we are able to prove, when we say, that all that infidel- 
ity has said against the Bible, in this respect, is just as 
false as the utterances of A. J. Davis which we have 
exposed in Part I. Our motto, reader, is, " the Bible, 
the whole Bible, and nothing but the Bible," as an all- 
authoritative revelation from God. We receive the 
whole of it as coming to us from the heart of infinite 
wisdom and intelligence. And, reader, when you stand 
in the unveiled presence of that infinite and eternal One, 
as you soon will, our solemn conviction is, that you 
will find yourself wholly unable then to present an 
adequate reason for not having received that book as 
God's only all-authoritative revelation to man, and as 
" the light to your feet and the lamp to your path " in • 

36 



422 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

your journey to immortality, and that if you have ever 
uttered a scoff, or an irreverential sentiment against that 
book, and have not deeply repented of the same, you 
will then cover your face with shame under the right- 
eous frown and reprobation of the moral universe. 
Byron penned a sentiment worthy of all regard, when 
he wrote on a blank leaf of his pocket Bible the follow- 
ing lines : — 

" Within this awful volume lies 

The mystery of mysteries. 
Ah, happy they of all our race, 

To whom our God has given grace, 
To read, to mark, to learn, to pray, 

To lift the latch and force the way. 
And better had they ne'er been born 

Who read to doubt, or read to scorn." 



PAET IV. 

CLAIEVOYANT EEVELATIONS OF EMANUEL 
SWEDENBOEG. 

We have the following reasons, among others, for 
subjecting, in the present treatise, the professed revela- 
tions of the individual above named to a sufficiently 
careful and rigid criticism to develop their real merits : — 

1. They undeniably belong to the very class of devel- 
opments which were the subject of criticism in the first 
two Parts of this work. 

2. These pretended revelations are now being very 
diligently urged upon public regard, on account of this 
very fact. Mr. Bush, for example, has published a work 
of 288 pages, the exclusive object of which is to disclose 
the relations of these revelations to Mesmerism. The 
following extract from this work will give the case as 
now presented to the public by the advocates of Swe- 
denborgianism among us. 

" The indubitable facts of Mesmerism are affording to 
the very senses of man a demonstration which cannot 
be resisted, that Swedenborg has told the truth of the 
other life. The denial of his claims has now to encoun- 
ter something more than the intrinsic character of his 
statements. It must meet, and, in order to be successful, 
must overcome, the strong array of facts planted around 
it by the progress of mesmeric discovery. These facts 

(423) 



424 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

are intuitively seen to connect themselves indissolubly 
with the whole tissue of Swedenborg's relations, as to 
the laws and phenomena of the spiritual world. The 
result is inevitable. If Mesmerism is true, Swedenborg 
is true. Can the further inference be resisted, that if 
Swedenborg is true, he is a divinely commissioned mes- 
senger from heaven to man ? It avails not to say in 
reply, that his revelations may have been merely mes- 
meric, and consequently are no more authoritative than 
those elicited from persons in ordinary magnetic extase. 
We have already shown that his state differed from that 
of ordinary mesmeric subjects, — that while there are 
certain points of resemblance and relation between 
them, his psychological condition was distinguished by 
peculiarities which elevated it immeasurably above 
theirs. The repetition of our proofs on this head will 
be unnecessary here. We content ourselves with the 
simple affirmation, that it is impossible to deny, on in- 
telligent grounds, that the higher mesmeric phenomena 
fall into the same category with the revelations of the 
Swedish seer, and that the truth of the former estab- 
lishes that of the latter." 

3. If we admit the validity of these revelations as 
now commended to the world by their advocates, we 
must hold, and that for no other reason than the simple 
word of this one man, that a part of the Bible was 
given by inspiration, and a part, about one sixth of the 
Old, and one half of the New Testament, the Acts, 
and all the Epistles, was not thus given. This we are 
to hold, when we have all the evidence, Swedenborg's 
testimony aside, that the parts rejected were thus given, 
that we have that the others were. 

4. The main and almost exclusive interest which that 
portion of the Holy Writ which is left us, is to possess 



EMANUEL SWEDENBOTiG. 425 

in our minds, after receiving these revelations as divine, 
is to be derived from the new meaning which we are 
now to attach, and that simply because Swedenborg 
says we must, to the words of Scripture, a meaning 
arbitrarily attached to them, and which they have no 
adaptations whatever to convey. The literal meaning 
of the Bible, we are taught, that is, the Scriptures, when 
explained according to the laws of language, is often 
self-contradictory and false, contrary to valid history 
and true science, and of an immoral character and ten- 
dency. It is only when we come to the higher and 
spiritual meaning which Swedenborg was commis- 
sioned to reveal, that we find real and absolute truth, 
truth self-consistent and eternal. The great interest, 
then, which the Scriptures should possess, and will pos- 
sess, the validity of his claims being admitted, the 
interest which, with all his followers, they do in fact 
now possess, is to attach almost exclusively to this new 
and higher meaning. Yet this one all-absorbing mean- 
ing, the words of Scripture have no adaptation to con- 
vey. We will give a single illustration, Swedenborg's 
explanation of 1 Samuel chapters v. and vi., which con- 
tain the account of the retention of the ark for a 
season in the land of the Philistines, and its being 
sent back by them. " The Philistines represent," he 
says, " those who exalt faith above charity ; which 
was the occasion of their continual wars with the 
Israelites, who represent those who cherish faith in union 
with charity. The idol Dagon is the religion of those 
who are represented by the Philistines. The emerods 
are symbols of the appetites of the natural man, which, 
when separated from the spiritual affections, are un- 
clean. The mice, by which the land was devastated, 
are images of the lust of destroying, by false interpreta- 

36* 



426 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

tion, the spiritual nourishment which the church derives 
from the word of God. The emerods of gold exhibit 
the natural appetites, as purified and made good. The 
golden mice signify the healing of the tendency to false 
interpretations, effected by admitting a regard to good- 
ness. The cows are types of the natural man, in regard 
to such good qualities as he possesses. Their lowing 
by the way expresses the repugnance of the natural 
man to the process of conversion. And the offering 
them up for a burnt-offering typifies that restoration of 
order which takes place in the mind, when the natural 
affections are submitted to the Lord."* Who, from 
any correct laws of interpretation, could ever have 
dreamed that God intended to represent by two cows 
" the natural man in regard to such good qualities as he 
possesses," and by the lowing of these cows " the 
repugnance of the natural man to the process of con- 
version ? " The words have no adaptation whatever to 
convey such an idea. The same holds equally true of 
every other spiritual idea which this revelator affirms to 
be expressed by the words of Scripture. Yet, if we 
receive him as our guide, our interest in these ideas 
thus arbitrarily attached to the words of Scripture, will 
become the almost, if not quite exclusive source of 
interest with us, in the Word of God. 

5. As a natural and necessary consequence, the Bible, 
as originally given to man, will in human estimation, 
be thrown into a deep, dark, and permanent eclipse ; 
while the so called revelations of Emanuel Sweden- 
borg will take its place, as the only revelations with 
which we have any deep concern. Among the Sweden- 
borgians, as the world cannot but know, this result has 
followed already, and it will universally follow, should 

* True Chris. Religion, § 203. 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 427 

this religion prevail. ' This, we say, is practical infidel- 
ity in regard to the Bible, as God gave it to man. 

6. We see nothing in these ideas thus arbitrarily at- 
tached to the words of Scripture, that indicate to us 
that they have a natural, or can have a divine right 
thus to take the place of this great central source of 
moral and spiritual illumination to fallen humanity. 
On the other hand, we see very little in these ideas 
which do not tend most powerfully to veil from our 
vision humanity as it is and must become, in order to 
be prepared to meet the exigencies of the coming 
future, to neutralize the efficiency of the glorious Gos- 
pel of the blessed God, in the work of human moral 
renovation, and finally, to degrade and debase our ideal 
of God and immortality. 

7. For ourselves, we could not make any approach 
towards receiving these revelations, without becoming 
utterly infidel in our notions in regard to the whole 
Bible. In that case, we must hold that all the evidence 
that now exists, or ever has existed, for the divine 
origin of those portions of the Scriptures which we are 
required to reject, the Acts, and all the Epistles of the 
New Testament, for example, is totally invalid and 
deceptive. But no higher, nor any other evidence 
exists for the divine origin of any other part of the 
Bible. If the Christian argument fails in one case, it 
fails in the other. It does totally fail and deceive, in 
one case, according to Swedenborg. The same identi- 
cal evidence cannot but fail and be deceptive, therefore, 
in both cases alike, and we have no divine revelation to 
the words of which Swedenborg's spiritual ideas can be 
attached. This is the necessary consequence that we 
must adopt, before we can even look at the claims of 
Swedenborg. If the Christian argument is valid, for 



428 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the divine origin of any one book of the New Testa- 
ment, it is equally valid for that of all the others, and 
Swedenborgianism, frojn the beginning to end, is a de- 
lusion. What evidence, for example, can be offered for 
the inspiration of Luke in writing his gospel, that 
would not affirm, with equal absoluteness, his inspira- 
tion, as the author of the book of Acts? What evi- 
dence exists for the inspiration of John, in writing the 
Gospel and Revelation, that does not affirm with equal 
absoluteness his inspiration, as the author of his epis- 
tles? But one alternative is left us, we maintaining 
logical consistency, and that is to reject Swedenborg, or 
become throughout infidels. We cannot be infidels, 
and therefore we must repudiate wholly the claims of 
Swedenborg. 

8. The time, in our judgment, has now arrived, when 
the real claims of this self-assumed divine revelator, 
may be set with such distinctness before the public 
mind, that they will be duly appreciated. * 

Without further introduction, we shall now proceed 
to lay before our readers our reasons, some of them, 
for regarding the claims of this individual as an in- 
spired revelator, utterly false and vain, and his system, 
taken as a whole, as nothing but delusion and error. 
We regard him as, like Frederika Hauffe, simply a 
clairvoyant, whose visions were to him real, but were 
the exclusive subjective result of an abnormal odylic 
physical and mental state, and utterly void of any 
claims to objective validity, or to be thus regarded by 
us. That his revelations are utterly void of all claims 
to validity, and that they should be held by us as un- 
true, we argue from the following considerations : — 

1. These professed revelations belong exclusively to 
a class which the unvarying experience of mankind in 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 429 

all ages, have found to be an utterly unreliable and 
deceptive source of information. " If Mesmerism is 
true" says Mr. Bush, " Swedenborg" is true." Suppose 
we state the proposition in a somewhat different form, 
namely, if Mesmerism is a reliable source of informa- 
tion, Swedenborg is a true and reliable revelator. If, 
on the other hand, Mesmerism is an unreliable and 
deceptive source of information, then we should be 
guilty of infinite presumption in placing confidence in 
the revelations of Swedenborg ; for the two classes of 
phenomena have a common origin, and must have 
common characteristics. Now clairvoyant revelations, 
Swedenborg's aside, have never, in a solitary instance, 
stood revealed to the world as thus reliable, — as any 
thing else than the most uncertain and unreliable 
source of information conceivable. The clairvoyant, in 
all instances, is subject to visions, the vast majority of 
which are untrue, with exceptions very few and far 
between correct, while the subject is utterly void of 
all capacity to distinguish the true from the false. This 
is the immutable law which characterizes them in all 
forms of development in which they have ever appeared, 
in any age of the world, or in any nation on earth. No 
man can intelligently read the life and experience of 
Swedenborg, without being convinced, that his revela- 
tions are exclusively from this one source. To regard 
them, therefore, as a reliable source of information, is 
as presumptuous as it would be to expect a suspension 
of the natural laws of the universe, and that without a 
miracle. Judging from the immutable law which char- 
acterizes these phenomena, the probability that any 
one of his visions pertaining to the other worlds, or to 
a future state, is true, is not as one to a hundred, while 
the probability that they are generally true, is not as 



430 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

.one to millions. He certainly is very unwise, who ac- 
cepts such sand-banks, as the rock of eternal truth. 

There is one fundamental fact which characterizes 
this class of phenomena, that should not be overlooked 
in this connection. The only objects lying beyond the 
compass of ordinary vision, in respect to which the 
perceptions of the clairvoyant are ever found to be true, 
are mere physical facts, with which he happens, at the 
moment, to be in odylic rapport. Whenever he at- 
tempts to reveal general truths, truths especially per- 
taining to objects lying beyond this mundane sphere, 
then his visions become utterly lawless and unreliable, 
and we might show that,, from the nature of the case, 
it could not be otherwise. The history of the world, 
we believe, presents us with not a solitary exception to 
this statement. Now it is in this very sphere, where 
clairvoyance has ever, without exception, utterly failed, 
that the visions of Swedenborg as a clairvoyant are 
found. The probability, therefore, is as infinity to 
unity against their reliability. 

2. The fundamental principle of science to which 
we have alluded on other occasions, that of sufficient 
reason, demands the assumption that the visions of 
Swedenborg are mere mental hallucinations, having an 
exclusively subjective origin without any corresponding 
realities. When we have ascertained that a part of a 
given class of facts owe their origin exclusively to a 
certain cause, and that this cause is fully adequate to 
the production of all the rest, we must refer them all 
alike to such cause, or we abandon the fundamental 
principle on which all scientific deduction is based. 
Let us apply this fundamental principle to the visions 
of Swedenborg. Of the manner in which these visions 
commenced, together with the exclusive ground of con- 



EMANUEL SWEDENBOKG. 431 

fidence which the subject had, that he was a divinely 
commissioned and authoritative revelator, the follow- 
ing extract from Dr. Pond's " Swedenborgianism Re- 
viewed," will present us with a clear and authenticated 
account. 

" In the spring of 1745, an event took place, which 
was regarded by Swedenborg (and is so regarded by all 
his followers) as the most important in his whole life. 
He professed to have had his spiritual senses opened, so 
that he could look directly into the invisible world, and 
converse with departed souls, angels, and demons, as 
freely as with men here on the earth. But the account 
must be given in his own words. ' I have been called 
to a holy office, by the Lord himself, who most gra- 
ciously manifested himself in person to me, his servant, 
when he opened my sight to the view of the spirit- 
ual world, and granted me the privilege of conversing 
with spirits and angels.' * Again : ' I can sacredly and 
solemnly declare, that the Lord himself has been seen 
of me, and that he has sent me to do what I do ; and 
for such purpose, he has opened the interior part of my 
soul, which is my spirit, so that I can see what is in the 
spiritual world, and those that are therein ; and this 
privilege has now been continued to me for twenty-two 
years.' f To another friend, who inquired how and 
when it was, that he was enabled to see what was done 
in heaven and hell, he gave the following answer. ' I 
was in London, and one day dined rather late by my- 
self, at a boarding-house, where I kept a room, in which 
at pleasure, I could prosecute the study of the natural 
sciences. I was hungry, and ate with great appetite. 
At the end of the meal, I remarked that a vapor, as it 
were, clouded my sight, and the walls of my chamber 

* Letter to Dr. Hartley. f Letter to Dr. Oetenger. 



432 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

• appeared covered with frightful creeping things, such as 
serpents, toads, and the like. I was filled with aston- 
ishment, but retained the full use of my perception and 
thoughts. The darkness attained its height, and soon 
passed away. I then perceived a man sitting in the 
corner of my chamber. As I thought myself entirely 
alone, I was greatly terrified ; when he spoke and said, 
' Eat not so much.' The cloud once more came over 
my sight, and when it passed away, I found myself 
alone in the chamber. This unexpected event hastened 
my return home. I did not mention the subject to the 
people of the house, but reflected upon it much, and 
believed it to have been the effect of accidental causes, 
or to have arisen from my physical state, at the time. 
I went home ; but in the following night, the same man 
appeared to me again. He said, ' I am God, the Lord, 
the Creator and Redeemer of the world. I have chosen 
thee to lay before men the spiritual sense of the holy 
word. I will teach thee what thou art to write.' On 
that same night, were opened to my perception the 
heavens and the hells, where I saw many persons of my 
acquaintance, of all conditions. From that day forth, I 
gave up all mere worldly learning, and labored only in 
spiritual things, according to what the Lord commanded 
me to write. Daily he opened the eyes of my spirit to 
see what was done in the other world, and gave me, in 
a state of full wakefulness, to converse with angels and 
spirits." * 

It is undeniably evident that Swedenborg, in his own 
mind, based the validity of his commission, as a divine 
revelator, upon that of the supposed visions of God 
which he had on these two occasions. It is equally evi- 
dent that he expected that the world at large would thus 

* See Robsam's Memoir of Swedenborg, in Hobart's Life, 214. 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 433 

receive him on the assumed validity of the same visions. 
To these visions he himself appeals before the world, as 
the basis of his high claims. " I can sacredly and 
solemnly declare," he says, " that the Lord himself has 
been seen of me, and has sent me to do what I do." 
Suppose that we can show, that by the fundamental and 
immutable principles of science, we are required to hold 
these visions as merely mental hallucinations which had 
an exclusively subjective origin, without any correspond- 
ing object whatever external to the mind. Then we 
should be sacredly bound to hold all his other visions 
as nothing else but hallucinations of this exclusive 
character; for the latter sustain such relations to the 
former, that they must be placed together under the 
same class or category. This is undeniable. Now, 
these very assumed visions of God are presented to us 
by the author himself, as a part of a class, all the rest 
of which were and could be nothing but mere mental 
hallucinations without any corresponding objects of real 
perception, and the cause which produced the latter is 
equally adequate to originate the former, in the total 
absence of such objects. Prior to these visions, it 
should be borne in mind, that according to the express 
testimony of Mr. Wesley, and the celebrated Dr. Hart- 
ley, one of Swedenborg's intimate personal friends, and 
earliest followers, " he was seized with a fever, attended 
with delirium." Subsequently, when in London, after 
eating an immoderate dinner, and retiring to his room, 
he had a vision in which the walls of his chamber, to 
use his own language, ' appeared covered with frightful 
creeping things, such as serpents, toads, and the like.' " 
Shall we suppose that there were real " serpents, toads, 
and the like," on the walls of that chamber, on that 
occasion ? We should be guilty of voluntary and reck- 

37 



434 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

less self-dementation, if we should, for a moment, en- 
tertain such a thought. We think, that even the most 
self-abnegating followers of our revelator, will not show 
themselves so idiotic as to pretend that there were upon 
those walls any real objects corresponding to his per- 
ceptions on that occasion. Here, then, we have a cause 
developed, and in active efficient operation in the 
organism of this individual, a cause which did induce 
distinct visions as of external objects, when no such 
external objects existed. In immediate connection with 
these identical visions, there is the appearance of a man 
" sitting in one corner " of the same room. Is not the 
cause which produced the other visions, in the absence 
of all corresponding objects external to the organism of 
the subject, equally adequate to produce this one vision 
in the absence of any such external object? But one 
answer can be given to this question. Every principle 
of science, then, requires us to hold this vision as 
nothing but a mental hallucination occasioned by the 
peculiar abnormal physical condition of the subject him- 
self. The same cause which originated this vision, to 
which no corresponding object was present, was equally 
adequate to reproduce the same vision after Sweden- 
borg had returned to his home. Thus far, we cannot 
follow the immutable laws of scientific deduction, with- 
out regarding ourselves as in the exclusive presence of 
mental and physical hallucinations, and of nothing 
else. Yet we have here the beginning and the end of 
Emanuel Swedenborg's commission and authority as 
a divine revelator. 

These undeniable hallucinations also have such a 
connection with his subsequent visions, that we are 
bound to suppose, that they are all of the same exclu- 
sive character. The same night after this second as- 



EMANUEL SWEDENBOKG. 435 

sumed vision of God occurred, "were opened to my 
perception," says Swedenborg, " the heavens and the 
hells, where I saw many persons of my acquaintance, 
of all conditions." Nothing which demands the suppo- 
sition of the presence and action of any new cause yet 
presents itself. The same reasons which require us to 
suppose the first visions to be nothing but hallucina- 
tions, demand that we attribute the same character to 
these, and so of all that follow. No object correspond- 
ing to any of them is required to account for its occur- 
rence, or any of its characteristics. The immutable 
laws of science, therefore, prohibit our referring any of 
these visions to such objects as their cause, and to pre- 
sent these visions as any evidence whatever of the real- 
ity of such objects. 

3. A respect, also, for the known character of God, 
every attribute of his nature, demands of us, that we 
attribute precisely such a character, and none other, to 
these professed revelations. Who does not know, that 
if God was about to reveal himself to man, and that for 
the high purpose of introducing a totally new dispensa- 
tion, he would not, under such circumstances, connect 
the visible manifestation of himself, with undeniable 
hallucinations, in the same percipient, and so connect 
the two, that the immutable laws of science would de- 
mand, that the same character of utter unreliability, and 
mental illusion, should be ascribed to each ? If we can 
affirm, with absolute certainty, any thing whatever of 
God, we can affirm, with the same certainty, that a real 
revelation from him to man has never come to us in 
such connections. The visions of Emanuel Sweden- 
borg are not from God, and he was never divinely com- 
missioned to take from our hearts a part of the divine 
word, and to nullify the rest by veiling them behind a 
new revelation. 



436 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

4. The same conclusion is forced upon us by the 
known and exclusively subjective character of these 
entire revelations. What are Swedenborg's " heavens 
and hells " but Swedenborg himself, turned inside out, 
that is, the exclusive reflections and external embodi- 
ments of his own previous mental states ? Any phi- 
losopher who should fully acquaint himself with the 
previous history and character of this individual, with 
the leading direction of his thoughts and feelings and 
sentiments, on all subjects, social, civil, philosophical, 
and religious, would predict, with perfect certainty, 
that if he should ever become the subject of odylic 
mental hallucinations, and that if these should be 
connected with the illusion that he was a divinely 
commissioned revelator to man, precisely these and 
none others would be the leading character of his 
visions, supposing that not one of them was valid for 
any corresponding reality. In his previous life, it is 
well known, that he was disappointed in an affair of 
the heart, in consequence of which " conjugial and 
scortatory love" became with him, the all-pervading 
element of his mental existence; and this is the cen- 
tral element of Swedenborg's visions of immortality. 
While in heaven, he attends a wedding of course. 
All his ideas in regard to the sexual relations are 
turned over and over, with a disgusting familiarity, in 
his intercourse with female angels. His heart comes 
fully out here, and it stands revealed to us combined 
of elements with which we have no desire to become 
further acquainted. His hells, too, are eternal brothels, 
in which nearly if not quite every fallen spirit there is 
" permitted to keep one mistress." " Conjugial love," 
he tells us, " is the very sphere of heaven." This single 
statement indubitably indicates the exclusively subjec- 
tive origin of his visions. 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 437 

Swedenborg, also, entertained certain peculiar notions 
in regard to the trinity, justification, etc. In heaven, 
he is permitted to attend church, on a certain occasion. 
The preacher, to whom, of course, such an illustrious 
personage as our visitant is introduced, stands revealed, 
as a devoted Swedenborgian, the object of the discourse 
being to set his hearers right on these special themes. 
The entire theological discourse of heaven is exclu- 
sively upon the very themes with which his mind had 
been previously exercised. 

Swedenborg, finally, had peculiar philosophical con- 
ceptions pertaining to the universe of matter and mind, 
and of their peculiar relations. His "heavens and 
hells " are exclusively constructed in perfect accordance 
with the principles of that philosophy. On all subjects 
alike, the highest intelligences of heaven knew just 
what he knew, and nothing more and nothing less. 
Swedenborg heard no " unspeakable words " in heaven. 
The table, at a dinner party which he affirms himself 
to have attended with the Almighty himself, was spread 
with the very " sweet cakes and condiments," wines and 
beverages, with which his appetites had been pre- 
viously delighted. The dresses, too, of the Prince, his 
grandees and courtiers, each to "their breeches and 
stockings," were patterned after his previous ideas of 
beauty and perfection. All in heaven and hell move 
in this one circle, and take exclusive form from this one 
mundane pattern. Now we say, that we cannot have 
higher evidence, that any visions are exclusively sub- 
jective and mundane in their origin, than we have in 
such undeniable facts as these, of the exclusively sub- 
jective origin of Swedenborg's pretended revelations, 
together with the fact, that none of them have any 
claims whatever to take rank, but among other mental 

37* 



438 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

illusions and hallucinations which arise in the human 
mind, in certain abnormal conditions of the physical 
organism. 

There is one very striking feature of these revela- 
tions, that should not be overlooked, in this connection, 
as presenting very nearly, if not quite demonstrative evi- 
dence of their exclusively subjective origin, and of their 
utter want of any claims to objective validity. We find 
Swedenborg's heaven pervaded throughout with reflec- 
tions of his peculiar prejudices and antipathies against 
persons who had previously lived. How hardly all 
persons get along there who, however honest and excel- 
lent in their character, morally and religiously consid- 
ered, happened to differ on any question of doctrine 
from this our revelator, especially if they held the 
doctrine of justification by faith. Luther, for exam- 
ple, " is still in the world of spirits, which is in the 
midst between heaven and hell, where he sometimes 
undergoes great sufferings," and all for one reason ex- 
clusively, that he has not yet given up the doctrine of 
justification by faith. Poor Melancthon, for the same 
reason, is shut up in a cold stone chamber, " clothed in 
a bear-skin, by reason of the cold, because faith without 
charity is cold." Towards Calvin our revelator at first 
seemed quite well disposed, giving him, in 1763, a 
place " in a society of heaven." Subsequently, however, 
he seems to have become the object of Swedenborg's 
peculiar dislike. Hence we find him at one time with 
a company of Predestinarians shut up in a dark cavern 
underground. Then he is companioned with a com- 
pany of simpletons who are without ideas on any 
subject. Next, after residing for a time in a certain 
governor's house, we find him " in a house occupied by 
harlots, where he remained some time." ■ Now he is in 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 439 

an infernal cavern, where " they are forced to work for 
their victuals, and are all enemies one to another. 
Here they do evil one to another to the extent of their 
power, and this is the delight of their life." Now when 
we see a professedly divine revelator's vision of immor- 
tality thus dotted all over with reflections of his own 
peculiar personal theological piques and prejudices, we 
should close our eyes to all the laws of cause and effect, 
if we did not read here the exclusively subjective origin 
of these revelations ; and we venture the affirmation, 
that not even Mohammed's visions are so fully charged 
with these infallible indications of subjective origin, as 
those of Emanuel Swedenborg. 

5. We find in these revelations such palpable errors 
and misstatements in regard to things visible and knoion, 
as to render all confidence in his revelations, in respect 
to " things unseen," infinitely presumptuous. We will 
specify two or three cases, as examples. He professed 
to have perfect knowledge of the solar system, so perfect 
that he could describe minutely the inhabitants of all the 
planets, their manners, customs, modes of life, and char- 
acter. If he had such a range and accuracy of vision, 
could he not tell us correctly of the number of planets of 
which the system itself is composed ? Certainly he could. 
Suppose we find him asserting, as absolutely true, what 
science has demonstrated to be false, and that in regard 
to great and palpable facts. If he thus errs in regard to 
what we do know, should we not infer, that he is not to 
be received as a safe and authoritative guide, in regard 
to what we do not know ? Now he asserts absolutely, 
that of all the others connected with the solar system, 
" the planet Saturn is the furthest distant from the sun," 
and that this is the reason why it is furnished with " a 
large luminous belt." Did God teach him to make such 



440 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

a statement? If he did, then inspiration itself is not a 
reliable source of information. If he did not, we have 
no evidence whatever, that in any of our seer's revela- 
tions, he was taught of God what to write, and if he was 
not thus taught, all these revelations are to be held as 
illusions and nothing else. The following extract from 
Dr. Pond presents another of our revelator's disclosures 
in regard to things about which the world has since be- 
come informed. 

" Swedenborg taught that, in his time, a new gospel 
or revelation was being made to the Africans, 'which, 
having commenced, goes from its region around, but not 
yet to the seas.' These enlightened Africans ' despise 
foreigners coming from Europe, who believe that man 
is saved from faith alone.' * In another of his works, 
Swedenborg introduces the same subject as follows : 
' Such being the character of the Africans, there is at 
this day a revelation begun among them, which is com- 
municated from the centre round about, but does not 
extend to the sea-coasts. They acknowledge our Lord 
as the Lord of heaven and earth, and laugh at the 
monks who visit them, and at Christians who talk of a 
threefold divinity, and of salvation by mere thought. 
I was informed from heaven, that the things contained 
in the doctrine of the New Jerusalem concerning the 
Lord, concerning the Word, and in the doctrine of Life, 
are now revealed, by word of mouth, by angelic spirits, 
to the inhabitants of that country.' Of these people it 
is further said, that though ' permitted by their laws to 
take several wives, they nevertheless have but one. 
Strangers from Europe are not freely admitted among 
them ; and when any, especially if they are monks, 

* True Chris. Eeligion, § 840. 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 441 

penetrate into the country, they inquire of them what 
they know ; and when they relate any particulars con- 
cerning their religion, they call them trifles which are 
offensive to their ears. And then they send them away 
to some useful employment ; and in case they refuse to 
work, they sell them for slaves.' " * 

None of Swedenborg's revelations, it should be borne 
in mind, are more absolute in their affirmations, or at- 
tended with higher evidence of a divine origin. " I was 
informed from heaven." This is the affirmed source of 
his information. Now the whole revelation is, from 
beginning to end, a baseless fiction, the exclusive result 
of mental hallucination, and his followers will not dare 
deny it. If his visions thus grossly and palpably falsify 
real facts in regard to this earth, what but infinite pre- 
sumption would induce any individual to place the least 
reliance upon them, when they pertain to facts in dis- 
tant planets, or the future state ? 

In the following extract from Swedenborg's writings, 
we have another revelation equally absolute, equally 
important, and equally false. It pertains to a book 
affirmed to have been written by Enoch, to be " the 
most ancient Word," and that from which Moses copied 
the first eleven chapters of Genesis, and other parts of 
his writings. 

" ' Concerning this ancient Word,' says Swedenborg, 
' which had been in Asia before the Israelitish Word, it 
is permitted to relate this news, that it is still reserved 
there among the people who live in great Tartary. I 
have conversed with spirits and angels who were thence 
in the spiritual world, who informed me that they possess 
the Word, and that they have preserved it from ancient 

* Continuation of Last Judgment, § 76 - 78. 



442 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

times, and that they perform their divine worship accord- 
ing to this Word, and that it consists of mere correspon- 
dences. They said that in it is the book of Jasher, 
mentioned in Joshua 10 : 12, 13, and in 2d Samuel 
1 : 17, 18 ; also that with them are the books called The 
Wars of the Lord; and the Enunciations, mentioned by- 
Moses, Numbers 21 : 14, 15, and 27-30. And when I 
read to them the words which Moses had taken thence, 
they looked to see if they were there, and found them. 
In conversing with them, they said that they worship 
Jehovah, some as an invisible God, and some as visible. 
They further told me that they do not suffer foreigners 
to come among them, except the Chinese, with whom 
they cultivate peace, because the Chinese emperor is 
from their country ; also that their country is exceed- 
ingly populous, beyond that of almost any other ; which 
is quite credible, from the wall of so many miles which 
the Chinese built, to protect their country against inva- 
sion from them. Moreover I heard from the angels, that 
the first chapters of Genesis, which treat of the creation, 
and of the first ages of the world up to the time of Noah 
and his sons, are also in that Word, and that they were 
copied thence by Moses.' " * 

Now we have just as much reason to believe the 
affirmations of the sacred books of the Hindoos, that 
somewhere between their country and Tartary there are 
mountains some six or ten thousand miles high, and that 
the succession of day and night is occasioned by the 
sun's passing around those mountains, as we have to 
put confidence in the above vision. We have, on the 
other hand, just about as much reason to discredit the 
one story as the other. This whole country was, during 

* True Chris. Religion, § 279. - 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 443 

all the middle ages, covered by Christian churches. 
For centuries, too, it has been traversed by Romish 
missionaries. Yet no such books, and no such people, 
have been found or heard of there. Of the non-existence 
of such a book, and of such a people, Swedenborgians, 
also, are well persuaded, or they would long since have 
obeyed the positive injunction of their revelator, to 
" seek for it [the book] in China." What revelation 
coming from this individual can we properly place con- 
fidence in, if not in the above ? Nothing can mark any 
communications as mental hallucinations, if these do 
not those of Emanuel Swedenborg. The very first 
vision he had was exclusively of this character, and we 
then find all the others so mingled with these, that we 
should violate every principle and law of scientific de- 
duction, if we did not class them all together under 
this one category. We might adduce other examples 
equally to our purpose, and that, in any number that 
could reasonably be desired. The above, however, 
which are perfectly fundamental in character and bear- 
ing, are sufficient. 

6. We now adduce the intrinsic absurdity of Sweden- 
berg's interpretation of the sacred text, as demonstra- 
tive evidence, that in such interpretations, he was never 
" taught of God," nor acted under a divine commission. 
Suppose that God wished to specify and represent such 
good qualities as man in his natural state possesses, on 
the one hand, and " the repugnance of the natural man 
to the process of conversion," on the other. Who in 
his senses, can believe, that he would take two cows 
yoked in a cart, to represent the first idea, and the low- 
ing of those cows to represent the other ? Lowing is 
always expressive of desire and not of repugnance, and 
is the last symbol conceivable at all adapted to express 



444 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

the idea here attached to it. Take the following ex- 
planation of 2 Kings 2: 24, containing the account 
of the destruction of forty and two children, by two 
she bears. " Elisha," says our divine revelator, " repre- 
sented the Lord as to the word. Baldness signifies the 
word devoid of its literal sense, thus not any thing." 
[A very important idea that, and how aptly the bald 
head of a prophet represents it.] The number forty- 
two signifies blasphemy. And bears signify the literal 
sense of the word, read indeed, but not understood." 
So hereafter when we meet with the number forty- 
two, we are to connect with it the idea of blasphemy, 
and when we*think or hear of two she bears, we are 
to connect with them the idea of the " literal sense of 
the word, read indeed, but not understood." How 
clear and impressive these two ideas become when 
connected with such symbols ! How worthy of the 
spirit of inspiration ! Let us suppose further, that God 
wished to represent this idea, " the understanding in the 
spiritual man," on the one hand, and of the will of the 
same on the other. According to Swedenborg he took 
this sublime method to do it, namely, the penning of 
this sentence, " male and female created he them," the 
term male signifying the understanding, and that of 
female the will. The term marriage represents the 
union of understanding and will in such a man. Again, 
God wished to express to man this idea, " the knowl- 
edge of all things relating to faith and love." Accord- 
ing to our revelator, he made use of the following 
phrase to accomplish that object : " The second river 
Gihon which encompasses the land of Cush." We 
will not multiply examples. We have yet to meet 
with any thing in the Celestial Arcana which does not 
degrade and debase all our sacred and venerating ideas 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 445 

and sentiments in regard to God, when we suppose that 
He is the author of such senseless monstrosities. We 
must remember, that no new truths at all are to be 
found here, as far as any real truth is presented. All 
that we meet with is simply and exclusively this, that 
known truths are arbitrarily connected with symbols 
which have no adaptation whatever to represent them, 
and are thus placed in new to be sure, but in totally 
unnatural, and thereby ridiculous and debasing asso- 
ciations. In the name of the common sense of the 
universe, we would ask, of what benefit can it be to us, 
to have any known and important truth associated in 
our minds, for example, with the bald head of a prophet, 
the number forty-two, two she bears, or the lowing of a 
pair of cows yoked in a new cart ? And here lies the 
exclusive merit of Swede nborg's Celestial Arcana. It 
adds not a particle to our stock of real knowledge, but 
simply, we repeat, places truths already known in un- 
natural associations. When we are told, for exam- 
ple, that the sentence, " of the tribe of Reuben were 
seated twelve thousand " — " signifies wisdom derived 
from celestial love, with them who are there," we obtain 
no clearer conceptions of that form of wisdom than 
we had before. We have no new symbol at all adapted 
to represent it. The idea which we had before has been 
placed in a new, but unnatural, and thereby debasing 
association. That is all. And here, we repeat, lies all 
Swedenborg's merit as the revelator of the affirmed 
spiritual signification of the sacred word. When any 
man presents himself to us, as divinely commissioned, 
to generate such associations, we shall assume, that the 
pretence itself is absolute proof that the professed 
revelator is either void of understanding, beside himself, 
or a deliberate impostor. 

38 



446 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

7. The next remark to which we invite very special 
attention is this. The known character of God renders 
it impossible, that Swedenborg's fundamental represen- 
tations in regard to the Scriptures can be true, and 
consequently, that any of his professed revelations can 
be worthy of confidence. "We hold this truth to be 
self-evident, that if God should give a revelation to 
man, he would not suffer the records containing the 
same, to be given in such relations to others not of 
divine original, that the former can, by no possibility, 
be distinguished from the latter, and that in all re- 
spects, there should be the same evidence of the divine 
origin and authority of one class, as of the other. 
Equally evident is it, that he would not give such 
revelation in a form adapted to mislead, in important 
particulars, even the honest mind, and all this, while 
the only meaning of the word with which humanity 
has the most deep and vital concern, is utterly veiled 
from the possible vision of man, and kept so, in regard 
to a majority of the sacred books, for thousands of 
years, and in respect to all, for more than sixteen cen- 
turies. All this, and more too, is true of God, in 
regard to Ms own revealed word, according to the fun- 
damental teachings of Swedenborg. God's own inspired 
writings were originally given in such connections with 
many others- not inspired, that, by no possibility, could 
the one class be distinguished from the other, while the 
real vital meaning of the portion given by inspiration 
was utterly veiled from the possible knowledge of 
humanity, and remained so for ages. We are shut up 
to the alternative to believe all this of God, or to reject 
the claims of Swedenborg as a divinely commissioned 
revelator. We take the latter position, and do so with 
no fear whatever of erring in our deductions. 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. ' 447 

8. "We now advance to a consideration of an objec- 
tion against the claims of our revelator, an objection 
about which there can be no mistake. Swedenborg's 
fundamental ideals of a future state can, by no possi- 
bility, be true. His entire philosophy of that state 
must be false, and can no more be true, than the 
proposition, that the same object can, at the same time, 
exist and not exist. According to the fundamental 
principles of Swedenborg, the soul, on its entrance into 
eternity, ceases wholly to exist in any relations to time 
or space. To the souls in that state, there are no 
such realities, time and space having relation exclu- 
sively to material objects, and to mind only when in 
the body. Angels, the disembodied spirits of men, 
have not, and cannot have, even the ideas of time 
and space in their minds. There is there nothing but 
states of mind. " The angels," he says, " cannot have 
any idea of time, but in its place an idea of state." 
Again, " times in the word signify states." So in 
regard to space and the idea of it. " Although all 
things," he says, "in heaven appear in place and in 
space just as in this world, still the angels have no 
notion and idea of place and space." Similarity of 
state, and that alone, constitutes nearness among 
spirits, and dissimilarity of states, separation or dis- 
tance. " Those," he says, " are near to each other who 
are in a similar state, and those at a distance who are 
in a dissimilar state." It is upon this one principle 
exclusively that the inhabitants of heaven and hell are 
separated from each other, and different societies are 
formed in each. In heaven and hell alike, nothing 
whatever exists but the mind and its states. Yet the 
mind there has perceptions as of external objects, just 
as it does in this world. The reason is, that mental 



448 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

states are seen by the mind, as objects external to the 
mind itself. If the mind thinks of any object, in that 
thought the object is present to the mind, as an object 
of external perception. Yet the object has no real 
existence out of the mind itself. " From this cause 
also it is," says our revelator, " that in the spirit world 
one is exhibited as present to another, if he only in- 
tensely desires his presence, for thus he sees him in 
thought, and puts himself in his state ; and conversely, 
that one is removed from another, as far as he is averse 
to him." If every inhabitant of the spirit world should, 
at the same moment, intensely desire the presence of 
of the same individual, he would be equally present to 
each, and equally able to communicate with each, in 
the same instant of time. So of all other objects of 
thought. " In heaven," he says, " there appear moun- 
tains, hills, rocks, rivers, castles, altogether as in this 
world." When the thought is turned with desire upon 
an object, that object is present, we repeat, to the mind, 
in that thought, as something external to it. If the 
mind thinks of some particular truth, as purity, virtue, 
innocence, some object will instantly appear as external 
to the mind, a flock of sheep, of lambs, or a rose, for 
example, symbolizing that truth to the mind. As ob- 
jects thus present to the mind as external to it, corre- 
spond to its own interior states, the world, the universe 
in which each individual has an apparent dwelling- 
place will be as his interior states. Each one really 
and truly makes his own heaven or his own hell. To 
minds in the same states, the same realities will be 
present in the same forms. Minds, in different states, 
will not only exist as encompassed by different realities, 
but the same objects will appear to them in totally 
different and opposite forms. 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 449 

To the inhabitants of heaven, for example, those in 
hell, he says, appear as clothed in the most frightful 
forms conceivable, while to each other, they appear in 
forms of perfect comeliness and beauty. All the above 
ideas are fully developed in the great work of Sweden- 
borg, " On heaven and hell," especially in the articles 
" Concerning time in heaven," and " Concerning space 
in heaven." Swedenborgians, we think, will do us the 
justice to admit, that we have truly represented the 
teachings of Swedenborg on these subjects, and have 
put no false coloring whatever into the picture. They 
will also admit, that these views are so entirely funda- 
mental in his entire system of doctrines in regard to a 
future state, that if they are demonstrated to be utterly 
false, and their truth an absolute impossibility, that entire 
system must be held as a delusion throughout. Hence 
we would invite very special attention to the following 
remarks upon what may properly be denominated 
Swedenborg's philosophy of a future state, a philosophy 
which must be true throughout, or his entire revelations 
in regard to the spirit world must be held, as nothing but 
a congeries of mental hallucinations. We here repeat 
the proposition with which we commenced our remarks 
under this head. This philosophy can no more be true, 
than the same object can, at the same time, exist and 
not exist. This we affirm for the following reasons : — 

(1.) The states of spirits in the spirit world, as well 
as of minds in this, must be successive, one to another. 
From the nature of the case, it cannot possibly be 
otherwise. These states are in fact successive, accord- 
ing to the express teachings of Swedenborg himself. 
" All things," he says, " have succession and progres- 
sion in heaven as well as in this world." Now succes- 
sion supposes time, and that as the necessary condition 

38* 



450 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

of its occurrence. This is an absolutely necessary 
truth, it being utterly impossible for the mind even to 
conceive the opposite as true, any more than we can 
conceive of an event without a cause, or of the anni- 
hilation of space. If the stales of spirits in the spirit 
world sustain the same relations to time that they do in 
this, then the mind itself sustains the same relations to 
time in the one world that it does in the other, and the 
revelations of Swedenborg are throughout nothing but 
mental illusions. Mind does sustain the same re- 
lations to time in the spirit world that it does in this ; 
for its states in both alike and equally are successive, 
and consequently do and must sustain the same identi- 
cal relations to time. The revelations of Swedenborg, 
therefore, must be false. We feel quite safe in the 
assertion, that by no possibility can there be a mistake 
about this argument. We once presented the argu- 
ment to Professor Bush, after he had presented to us 
Swedenborg's philosophy of a future state in the pre- 
cise form above presented, and presented it as the 
crowning glory of the system. To us he appeared per- 
fectly confounded. He made no attempt whatever to 
meet the difficulty, but simply expressed the belief, that 
he should be able to do it at some future time. We now 
present the argument to him once more, and before the 
world, ask him to renounce Swedenborg, or relieve his 
revelations from the difficulty above presented, together 
with those involved in the propositions next to be con- 
sidered. 

(2.) Our second remark is, that mind in the spirit 
world, not only sustains, in fact, the same relations to 
time that it does in this, but has and must have, from 
the immutable laws of its intellectual nature, the same 
idea of it in the one state that it has in the other. Its 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 451 

states in each alike not only sustain the same relations 
to time, but are with equal distinctness recognized, in 
each alike, as successive. From the nature of the mind 
it cannot be otherwise. They are recognized by the 
mind as successive in each state alike and equally, ac- 
cording to the express teachings of Swedenborg him- 
self. He tells us that angels often conversed with him 
about their past and present experiences, representing 
them as successive, just as men speak of their succes- 
sive states now while they are in the body. Angels, 
then, have the idea of succession as well as we do, and 
in the same form. Now the idea of succession can, by 
no possibility, be in the mind without that of time. 
"Without this latter idea, the mind could by no possi- 
bility conceive of or speak of past and present states. 
It is a contradiction in terms to suppose the opposite. 
If angels have the idea of succession, or of their own 
mental states, as past and present, they must of neces- 
sity have the idea of time, and the revelations of 
Swedenborg can, by no possibility, be any thing else 
than a mass of illusions. They have, and must from 
their nature as rational beings have, and according to 
the express teachings of Swedenborg himself, they do 
have, the idea of succession most distinctly developed 
in their minds. They must, therefore, have the idea of 
time, and we should be guilty of absolutely infinite 
presumption, did we not regard Swedenborg's pro- 
fessed revelations as nothing but a mass of mental 
hallucinations. To us it is a matter of wonder, that 
Swedenborg, even in the state of hallucination in which 
he was, should have made such a fundamental mistake, 
as he undeniably has, in this instance, a mistake which 
renders it absolutely impossible that his visions as of 
eternity should be true. He has visions as of angels. 



452 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

He converses with them about their past and present ex- 
periences in the spirit world, and he finds that they con- 
verse on such subjects just as minds in the body do ; 
that angels, in short, have ideas equally as distinct of 
succession as men have. Yet the latter, he affirms, have 
the idea of time, while the former can, by no possibility, 
have it at all, and that when they once had it, that is, 
when they were themselves in the body, and still have 
ideas which cannot exist in any mind, in any world, 
without that very idea which he says they cannot pos- 
sibly have at all. Swedenborg's system would not be 
more demonstrably false, had he asserted and intro- 
duced the dogma as a fundamental element into his 
system, that angels have the idea of time, they having 
the idea of succession, and that men, though equally 
with the angels they have the latter idea, do not, and 
cannot, by any possibility, have the former. 

(3.) Swedenborg's revelations, we remark, in the next 
place, cannot possibly be true, and his followers will 
not deny this, if angels have, and must have, not only 
the ideas of succession and time, but also those of 
place and of space. Yet the immutable laws of mind, 
and Swedenborg's own revelations, render it demonstra- 
bly evident, that angels do and must have these last 
two ideas as well as the former ones. They have the 
idea of themselves as real existing beings. This none 
will deny. Now rational minds cannot have the idea 
of itself as existing, without connecting with that idea, 
that of existing somewhere. Mind cannot put to itself 
the question, What am I, and it cannot have the con- 
sciousness of existing at all, without putting this ques- 
tion, it cannot put to itself the question, we say, What 
am I ? without, with it, putting another, namely, Where 
am I? The ideas of existence, and whereness, are 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 453 

necessarily connected in the mind, and it must cease to 
be rational at all, before the former can be in it, without 
the latter. Then angels, even according to the express 
revelations of Swedenborg himself, have the ideas of 
form, and of body. They appear to themselves, as he 
affirms, as in bodies, dwelling in houses, inhabiting 
cities, and passing from place to place, just as they did, 
when in this world. " As often as I have spoken with 
angels face to face," he says, " so often have I been 
with them in their habitations. Their habitations are 
altogether like the habitations on earth, which are called 
houses, but are more beautiful ; in them are parlors, 
rooms, and bedchambers, in great numbers ; there are 
also courts, and round about are gardens, shrubberies, 
and fields." In the same connection, he tells us that he 
has " several times spoken with angels " about their 
habitations, and told them, that among men " scarcely 
any one would believe that they [the angels] have hab- 
itations and mansions," and that the angels express 
their wonder " that such ignorance reigns at this day in 
the world " and " chiefly in the church." Angels, then, 
according to the express revelations of Swedenborg 
himself, have just as distinct ideas of form, of body, 
and of the relative positions of different bodies as men 
in this world have. Yet he tells us that the latter have, 
and the former have not, and cannot have, any idea 
whatever either of place or of space. Now body supposes 
space, and the idea of the former can, by no possibility, 
be in any rational mind, without that of the latter. It 
is just as much of a contradiction to say, that the idea 
of body, and of mind in body, dwelling in houses sur- 
rounded " with gardens, shrubberies, and fields," houses, 
too, constituted of " parlors, rooms, and bedchambers, 
in great numbers," it is just as much of a contradiction, 



454 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

we say, to affirm, that such ideas are in rational minds 
in any world, and that the ideas of space and of place 
are not, and cannot be in the same minds, as it would 
be to say, that body does not suppose space, or that 
the same thing can, at the same time, exist and not 
exist. 

Then Swedenborg affirms, that he obtained informa- 
tion from angels pertaining to facts and localities in this 
world, information which they never could have con- 
veyed, had they not had distinct apprehensions of suc- 
cession and time, and also place and space. They gave 
him, for example, he says, and as we have already 
shown that he says, specific information in regard to 
facts as occurring in Africa and Tartary, and at speci- 
fied periods, as in the time of Enoch, before the flood. 
Now if they have and can have no ideas of time, or of 
place or space, how could they thus speak of particular 
localities, and of events as occurring there, and at 
specific and relative periods, in the history of our race ? 
No intelligent being can give an intelligible expression 
of an idea that is not and cannot be in his mind. 
Angels, according to Swedenborg himself, can and do 
converse intelligently and intelligibly concerning succes- 
sive events, events, too, as occurring at specified periods 
of time, and of material objects as existing in specific 
localities in space. According to his express teachings, 
therefore, they do and must have distinct apprehen- 
sions of time and succession, and of place and space. 

The argument, under the present head, stands thus. 
Swedenborgianism must be false, if mind in the spirit 
world does exist in the same relations to time and 
space that it does in this, or if it there has, or can 
have, even the ideas of time, or of place, or of space; 
for Swedenborg has affirmed absolutely that none of 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 455 

these things can be true of mind in that world, and has 
so constructed his entire system, that it must be 
false, if any of these things are true. Again, Sweden- 
borgianism cannot possibly be true, unless mind, in the 
spirit world, does exist in the same relations to time 
and space, and has the same, or similar ideas of them, 
that it does sustain and possess in this life ; for he de- 
clares absolutely, that its states, and all things else, 
" have succession and progression in heaven ; " that 
angels have apprehensions of such states and all other 
things, as successive and progressive, of particular 
events as occurring at specific periods of time, and of 
objects as having form and relative position, and as 
existing in specific localities in place and space ; none 
of which could be true, unless the mind there has, in 
fact, the same relations to time and space, and has the 
same ideas of succession and time, and of place and 
space, that it has here. Swedenborgianism, then, is as 
demonstrably false, as the proposition that the square 
of the hypothenuse of a right-angled triangle is equal to 
the sum of the squares of its two sides, is demonstrably 
true, and we are no more liable to err, in affirming the 
former, than we are in affirming the latter. 

(4.) Admitting Swedenborg's philosophy of a future 
state to be throughout true, we are bound, by the fun- 
damental principles of that philosophy, we remark 
finally, under this head, to reject utterly all his specific 
visions and revelations, as having no validity what- 
ever for facts as they are in that state, or for what we 
ourselves may expect to see or experience, when we 
enter it. According to the fundamental principles of 
that philosophy, what a mind sees there, that is, the 
appearances around it, depend wholly upon its interior 
states, and are determined by the same. To minds in 



456 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

different states, even the same objects put on not only 
different, but totally opposite appearances. Suppose 
that Swedenborg did enter the spirit world, and has 
correctly reported the visions which he had there. That 
is no certain evidence that we, when there, shall have 
any visions even analogous to his. To him conjugial 
love was the very centre and sphere of heaven. Every 
angel and devil that we may meet with, may affirm 
absolutely that " in the resurrection, they neither marry 
nor are given in marriage," and that all Swedenborg's 
visions on the subject are the sheerest illusions con- 
ceivable. When in a certain locality he heard noises 
proceeding from certain miserable kabitations, noises 
like " gnashing of teeth." On entering, he found mul- 
titudes of wretched beings who had held, while on 
earth, the doctrine of justification by faith, etc., en- 
gaged in fierce and angry disputes on the subject, and 
that their voices had constituted the discordant sounds 
which he had before heard. To us those very habita- 
tions may appear as " a sea of glass mingled with 
fire." Those multitudes, too, may appear to us, as 
standing upon that sea with the harps of heaven in 
their hands, while their voices may sound to us, as 
the notes of that everlasting song that " makes melody 
in the ear of God." Instead of finding Luther and 
Melancthon and Calvin where he saw them, we may 
meet them in "buildings of God, houses not made 
with hands, eternal in the heavens;" while Emanuel 
Swedenborg, for rejecting and contemning the doc- 
trine of atonement and of justification by faith, we 
may find in the lowest hell that can be found there. 
We also may find the Dutch, the Germans, the English, 
etc., in no such localities as he assigns them to, and all 
because his visions of them grew out of- his peculiar 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 457 

states relative to them, and we may be in relative 
states the opposite of his. If Swedenborg's philosophy, 
we repeat, is true, and we have seen that it cannot but 
be false, then, by the fundamental principles of the 
system, his visions are of no value whatever to us, ex- 
cepting as matters of idle curiosity. 

9. We now approach a department of this subject 
which we would gladly pass over in silence, did the 
interest of morality permit. What we here say, will 
be penned in sorrow, not in anger. We refer to 
Swedenborg, as a moral revelator. If he errs here, we 
may know absolutely, that his revelations are not, and 
cannot be from God ; and here we affirm, he funda- 
mentally errs, and errs just where all false religions do, 
in giving principles or permissions which mar the puri- 
ty of the domestic relations. One fundamental error in 
regard to mind and morals both, we impute to him, on 
the authority of Dr. Pond, we not now having the 
specific articles containing the error before us. Our 
revelator teaches, that conscience in man, is wholly the 
result of education, and pertains to him only in this 
world, that in the spirit world, mind is without a con- 
science, and suffers nothing through it. If mental 
science has now established any truth whatever in 
regard to mind, it has established this, that conscience 
is not a creature of education, but a changeless and un- 
dying attribute of rational mind. Any professed reve- 
lation built upon the opposite supposition, not only can- 
not be from God, but must be of most dangerous and 
pernicious tendency, making all moral wrong nothing 
but violations of conventional rules among men, and 
not as it is, a violation of the will of God, and of 
eternal and immutable rules of rectitude. No inspired 

39 



458 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

man, we may safely say, ever made such a fearful mis- 
step in his morals and philosophy both as this. 

But what are the moral rules to which he, as a pro- 
fessedly divine revelator, attempts to educate the con- 
science ? Here we find him as fully accommodating 
to human lust, as the most licentious could ask. We 
hesitate not to say, that the conscience of our reve- 
lator, if a creature of education, took its principles 
wholly from the most corrupt maxims of a corrupt 
court, and that, under the influence of the form of 
inspiration to which he was subject, its moral principles 
received no modification for the better. For the regula- 
tion of the life of the young man who has strong sexual 
propensities, and is not able to keep a wife, he says, ex- 
pressly, " keep a mistress" and urges upon him various 
philosophical and ethical reasons for so doing. If he 
has formed the intention of marrying an individual, he 
may, to " initiate her into the friendship of love," " co- 
habit with her as a mistress," " if he does it, with the 
constant intention to make her a wife." 

His principles are equally accommodating, and ac- 
commodated to the lust of the husband after marriage. 
He is not permitted to cohabit with a wife and mistress 
at the same time. But if the wife has certain vitiated 
states of the body, such as fevers, leprosies, cancers, 
fainting, epilepsy, rupture, etc., then without any crime 
or fault on her part, or any want of devotion to him, he 
may totally separate himself from her, and while he has 
no divorce, and keeps her in his own house, he may 
" have another woman in keeping," and thus in the 
presence of his agonized wife and family, raise up a 
herd of bastards, as the companions and fellow heirs of 
his legally begotten children. If we have used strong 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 459 

language, in this last sentence, it is because facts, as 
they are, could not be expressed without it. The above 
are but specimens, and by no means the worst, of what 
this professedly divine revelator has uttered, on these 
and kindred subjects. It is no reply to say, that the 
things referred to are not required, but merely per- 
mitted to prevent greater evils. The permission makes 
action in accordance with it a sacred duty, as soon as 
the circumstances referred to arise. If it is right, in the 
circumstances named, for the individuals referred to 
to " take a mistress," then they are in conscience bound 
to do it, when in their honest judgment, the less evils 
would arise from their doing, than from their not doing 
it. There is no escaping this conclusion. The follow- 
ing, then, are among the necessary results of his prin- 
ciples on this subject : (1.) It is not only permitted to 
individuals, but is a sacred duty for them, in the cir- 
cumstances named, to " keep a mistress," and parents, 
as he instructs them, may be bound to furnish such for 
their sons. (2.) The relation of mistress is an honor- 
able, and in itself virtuous relation, and should exclude 
the persons occupying it, from no position or associations 
in society, which they would otherwise occupy. If it 
is honorable in one party, and Swedenborg affirms it 
to be, it cannot be dishonorable in the other, and should 
not be so regarded or treated in society. (3.) If it is 
proper in parents to allow their sons, and Swedenborg 
says it is, to keep mistresses, it is equally proper in 
parents to furnish daughters to be kept as such. This 
is undeniable. (4.) One of the best means of prepar- 
ing daughters to occupy the position of wives, is to 
have them first fill, with their future husbands, the 
sphere of mistresses. Thus they may be, in the lan- 
guage of our revelator, " initiated into the friendship of 



460 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

love." These are the necessary deductions from the 
principles of this professedly divine revelation, and con- 
sequently what, if his claims be admitted, must be re- 
ceived as "taught of God." We will not trust ourselves 
to say what we really think on this subject ; but will 
barely add, that we no more believe that God ever au- 
thorized this man to speak in His name on this, or 
any other subject, than we believe that He expressly 
authorized and commanded Judas to betray his Master 
with a kiss. 

10. We are now, we remark, finally, prepared to 
understand the bearing of Professor Bush's tests by 
which the question of Swedenborg's inspiration is to be 
decided. " The truth of his mission is to be established 
by the truth of his message and by that only." 

" We must rely," he says again, " upon internal 
evidence," etc. We have shown, we think, demonstra- 
bly, that the system of Swedenborg can, by no possi- 
bility, be true. We therefore, on the authority of the 
above principles, draw the necessary inference, that he 
was not and could not have been an inspired revelator, 
and that we should be guilty of infinite presumption, if 
we should receive him as such. 

Before concluding our remarks, it may be important 
for us to notice the reasons urged by the friends and 
followers of our revelator in favor of his high claims, 
reasons aside from internal evidence. They are like the 
following: (1.) He was a man of preeminent natural 
powers, and of corresponding eminence in science. (2.) 
He revealed facts unknown to any living persons, or 
unknown to any on earth but the inquirers, and had 
visions of objects beyond the reach of the senses. He 
revealed, for example, to the Queen of Sweden, a com- 
munication which passed between her and her brother 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 461 

before his death, and which she was sure she had 
never communicated to any person living, and to the 
widow of the Dutch envoy in Stockholm, the existence 
and location of an important document of which she 
was ignorant. When three hundred miles from Stock- 
holm once, he told that a fire was then raging in that 
city, and at length said, " thank God, the fire is extin- 
guished, the third door from my house." All was found 
to have occurred just when and as he stated. Then, it 
is affirmed, that he had direct and open visions as of the 
spirit world, and held immediate conversation as with 
spirits distinctly revealed to him. We readily grant 
the reality of the facts before us, as their authenticity 
cannot reasonably, we judge, be questioned. Yet the 
facts throughout make an entirely opposite impression 
upon our mind from what they do upon those of his 
followers. 1. In the known principles of his philosophy, 
together with the known states of his mind, we see 
throughout the patterns after which all his visions of a 
future state took form. His visions are not patterned 
after things in heaven, but all things in his heavens are 
patterned after things preexisting in his mind. His 
philosophy, etc., gave form to his visions of heaven. 
This philosophy, as we have shown, can by no possi- 
bility be true, and therefore his visions of heaven must 
be false. 2. From the previous eminence of Sweden- 
borg in science, we infer, with the most undoubting con- 
viction, that while receiving and constructing his visions, 
he must have been, as to these, in an abnormal mental 
state. On no other supposition can we account for the 
palpable contradictions that he has introduced into his 
system. When he tells us, for example, that " all things 
are successive and progressive in heaven," that angels 
converse upon them as such, and then relate events as 

39* 



462 MODERN MYSTERIES- 

having occurred at definite periods of the past; that 
they perceive external objects as having definite rela- 
tive localities, and then reveal to him facts as existing 
in definite localities on earth ; and then affirms, that 
angels have, and can have, no ideas of succession and 
time, or of place and space, that by times they mean 
states, that with them " by length is meant a state of 
good, by breadth a state of truth, and by height their 
discrimination according to degrees," we say that it is 
very difficult for us to see how a well-balanced scien- 
tific mind should put together such palpable and abso- 
lute contradictions on the same page. We thence 
infer that, at the time, the mind of Swedenborg had, 
as far as these revelations are concerned, lost its bal- 
ance, and could not have been thinking and writing 
under the guidance of inspiration. 3. From the 
particular facts above referred to, the nature and cause 
of this abnormal state is distinctly revealed to our 
mind. Swedenborg was undeniably a clairvoyant, 
and his visions were the exclusive result of an abnormal 
mental and physical state, occasioned by the permanent 
development in his organism of the odylic force. All 
his visions become perfectly intelligible, in regard to 
their origin and character, when this fact is taken into 
the account in connection with his known preexisting 
philosophical views, and other mental states, and ren- 
der certain the exclusively subjective origin of those 
visions. 4. We remark, finally, that the conclusions 
which Swedenborgians deduce from his apparently 
preternatural visions impress us, not with the convic- 
tion that those conclusions are valid, but with the 
singular absence of logical and scientific procedure in 
their deductions from such facts. They ought to take 
into the account the undeniable fact, that precisely 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 463 

similar disclosures of facts unknown to inquirers, and 
equally distinct and palpable visions of spirits and 
other objects, when no such objects are present, attend 
the action of the very force developed in the organism 
of Swedenborg, and that when nothing preternatural 
attends or controls its action. We have before us 
multitudes of facts precisely similar to those attributed 
to him. Some years since, for example, a circle ex- 
isted in Cincinnati, who professed to have, through a 
clairvoyant, immediate intercourse with the dead, and 
visions of the future state. A pastor of one of the 
Presbyterian churches in that city, now president of a 
western college, told them, that if they would reveal 
to him certain facts known to himself alone pertaining 
to his father, who had before died in New Hampshire, he 
would admit that they were in connection with preter- 
natural sources of information. Those very facts were 
detailed to him with perfect accuracy, and that as from 
the spirits, and he concluded that he was in the pres- 
ence of satanic agency. The character of the circle, 
as subsequently revealed, rendered it certain, that no 
preternatural agency of a higher order than the satanic 
could have been there. We could also cite any reason- 
ably required number of cases in which objects in 
unknown localities have been revealed, to parallel any 
and all of Swedenborg's, belonging to this class. As 
for his visions, as of spirits, we know very well that 
jugglers, in all ages, have, in some instances, been able 
to induce in spectators equally palpable visions of ab- 
sent living persons. A case of this kind will be found 
in the following extract from Dr. Leonard Woods on 
Swedenborgianism : — 

" I would not undertake to disprove the authenticity 
of the stories related of Swedenborg. And what then ? 



464 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

In all ages wizards and witches have said and done 
things seemingly preternatural, and very astonishing. 
You remember the story of the Witch of Endor. And 
in Lane's Travels in Egypt, feats of Egyptian jugglers 
are related which are as wonderful as what Kant re- 
lates of Swedenborg. On one occasion a juggler was 
required to bring to view the image of a man in 
France, whom it was certain that he never saw, and 
that he could have no suspicion to whom the person 
making the request referred. After some incantations, 
the juggler plainly showed the form of the French 
officer intended, lame of one leg, and wearing a peculiar 
badge of military honor. The party who made the 
requisition on the juggler, was struck with as much 
consternation as was the queen in the case of Sweden- 
borg." 

In this case we have a distinct, present vision of a 
living person then in a distant kingdom, and we are 
now able to explain the manner in which this vision 
was induced. By means of the incantations, etc., the 
traveller was brought into odylic rapport with the jug- 
gler. On the same principles as the clergyman induced 
in a medium in the case described, a mental vision of 
a tree the like of which she had never seen nor heard 
of before, the thought of the traveller was first, no 
doubt, reproduced in the mind of the juggler, and 
through him finally again produced as a vision of the 
object referred to, in the traveller's mind. We think 
that it was upon this principle, that the vision of 
Samuel was induced in the mind of Saul. We could 
also adduce authentic cases in which individuals have 
had visions as of, and communications as with, spirits, 
visions just as distinct and palpable as any of Sweden- 
berg's, when the persons having them had no idea that 



EMANTJEL SWEDENBORG. 465 

any spirits at all were present, and when facts showed 
that they were right in their apprehensions. How 
illogical, then, to reason from the fact, that Sweden- 
borg had such visions, to the validity of the same! 

Probably we should not finally dismiss this subject, 
without an expression of opinion in regard to the char- 
acter of the two great clairvoyant revelators, A. J. 
Davis and Emanuel Swedenborg. We agree with 
the public generally, in regarding the latter as honestly 
supposing himself a divinely commissioned revelator, 
while he was utterly deceived in that supposition. 
In regard to the former, we would say, that we have 
never, since we first read the work which we have re- 
viewed, had a doubt, that the mind or minds which 
produced the introduction to that work, and the note 
on page 130, was or were the real author or authors of 
the Avhole production. The identity of style throughout 
precludes, in our judgment, any other supposition. 
Then Ave subsequently learned, as we have stated, 
that Davis, as a matter-of-fact, had the peculiar power, 
when in the magnetic state, of uttering, just as they 
would, the thoughts of those with whom he was in 
odylic communication. We then learned, on the 
authority of Mr. Bush, that the class of persons from 
whom these very thoughts were likely to proceed, were, 
while he was giving forth his " divine revelations," 
always with him, and never suffered him to be alone. 
The individual, also, who first introduced Davis to the 
mysteries of clairvoyance, and who has had very good 
opportunities to know, has said, that Davis was not 
the real author of a dozen pages of this work. Our 
authority is Rev. J. H. Smith, then of Poughkeepsie, 
and now pastor of a Baptist church in Buffalo, N. Y. 
There, an individual who affirms himself to have been 



466 MODERN MYSTERIES. 

with Davis at the time, and to know the facts, and 
who is believed to be a reliable witness, affirmed to 
Willard Sears, Esq., of Boston, that Davis, in the 
production of this work, was simply a medium through 
whom other men's thoughts were uttered. We leave 
the above facts and statements to speak for themselves, 
and our whole work to the candid judgment of the 
reader. 



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